Noting that the Tamil Nadu government has spent around ₹6,000 crore on COVID-19 management so far, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar on Sunday said Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has urged the Centre to release ₹3,000 crore at the earliest.

The Minister, who arrived here on Saturday night from Tirunelveli, held a review meeting with District Collector Prashant M. Wadnere, other officials and doctors from the government hospital. Fellow Minister Kadambur Raju, Tamil Nadu’s Special Representative in New Delhi Thalavai M. Sundaram and others visited the Government Ayurveda Medical College Hospital at Kottar on Sunday.

Addressing the media, Dr. Vijayabaskar said that in government hospitals, be it those in Chennai or in other cities like Madurai, Tirunelveli or Kanniyakumari, COVID-19 management was being done as per the World Health Organisation’s guidelines. Paying tribute to the medical fraternity, he said that in many cities of the State, doctors and para-medical staff had gone beyond the call of duty and rendered yeoman service. This had provided psychological strength to the people, who had varied opinions about the virus, he added.

Despite large numbers of people getting infected, the State had managed the situation well, and the mortality rate in most places was low, he said. The total lockdown had helped in containing the spread of the virus to a great extent, he added.

The Minister said there were adequate stocks of face masks and sanitisers and other disinfectant material, and there was no dearth of such products in any of the government hospitals.

He said the Chief Minister was very clear in his resolve to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government was ready to face any challenge to save people’s lives and livelihoods. There was no room for politics or negligence in the handling of the pandemic, contrary to the allegations made by the Opposition against the government, he added.

He commended the doctors and nurses at the Asaripallam Government Medical College Hospital.

The Collector, who laid out the measures taken by the district administration, said multi-departmental coordination by officials at several levels had facilitated speedy management.

With Kanniyakumari district being situated close to Kerala, the functioning of check-posts and the manpower deployed at these points were discussed at the meeting. The doctors explained the screening procedures for migrants who come into the district from Kerala and overseas.

The Minister was also apprised of the containment measures in the district. He sought to know the reason for the high case loads in some pockets of the district. He gave an assurance that he will look into the issue of staff shortage, which had arisen after many frontline workers tested positive last month.

‘Donate plasma’

To a query, Dr. Vijayabaskar said that around one lakh patients who had tested positive for the infection had successfully been treated. Hence, they should come forward to donate plasma, using which treatment could be offered to more patients with complications.

The State recently recruited 2,000 lab assistants. Hence, there was no question of delay in getting test reports, he said, adding that there was no shortage of beds in government hospitals as the overall bed strength had been increased to 70,000.