A total of 1,606 pregnant women have tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Tamil Nadu till now, according to Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar.

“Of this, 1,104 women were discharged, and the remaining are under treatment,” he said in Chennai on Thursday. The Minister, along with Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan, inspected the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (IOG) and Hospital for Women and Children, Egmore.

At IOG alone, 400 pregnant women, who tested positive for COVID-19, were admitted in the last three months. Of them, 374 were discharged till date. “Usually, IOG handles 60 deliveries per day. The hospital started to receive pregnant women who tested positive for COVID-19, and has so far discharged 374 of them who had normal deliveries and caesarean sections,” he said.

There were pregnant women with co-morbidities such as diabetes and hypertension, and breathlessness. “In the last three months, the hospital has registered zero maternal deaths during COVID-19 though there were instances of last minute referrals from other hospitals. They have managed both the mother and child,” he said.

Noting that swabs were lifted from newborns for COVID-19 testing, he said among them 39 tested positive at IOG, accounting for nearly 10 to 12%. “There were no major issues with newborns who tested positive for COVID-19. The babies were kept under observation in isolation. Both mother and child were safely discharged after testing negative for COVID-19.”

He added that Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) centres in the State had separate pathways, antenatal wards, labour rooms, operation theatres and post natal ward for COVID-19 positive women. The staff were provided with personal protective equipment.

“Through the National Health Mission, we had constituted a high-level committee to come up with a special protocol for the care of antenatal women who test positive for COVID-19. Dos and don’ts were provided for all CEmONC centres, while the protocols for treatment were shared with doctors,” he added.

The protocols were shared with obstetricians in the private sector too, he said. “When compared to private hospitals and primary health centres, more deliveries were being conducted at these CEmONC centres during COVID-19 time. All CEmONC centres including at Madurai, Tiruchi, Chengalpattu and Villupuram are equipped,” he said. A nutritional diet combined with Siddha diet were provided for them at all CEmONC centres in the State.

He added that the rapid response committee analysed cases and found no major risk in the age group of 0 to 20 years. “There were one or two deaths in this age group. This is rare and needs to be studied,” he said.

All district Collectors, joint directors of health services, deans of government medical college hospitals were advised on precautionary measures to prevent diseases during the rainy season. Expert committees comprising entomologists and epidemiologists were formed.