The Tamil Nadu government’s strategy to combat the spread of COVID-19 and its integrated approach to treating those affected are better than the measures adopted by most other States, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said on Tuesday.
The rate of positivity, which used to be 40% in Chennai’s containment zones, had come down to 3%-4%. The State’s figure now stood at 8%, and the situation was manageable, he said while addressing a press conference.
Dr. Vijayabaskar said the State had enough beds to accommodate patients. To drive home his point that the situation was under control, he said 50% of the beds in Chennai and 80%-90% beds in care centres were unoccupied. Of the 70 deaths reported on July 20, he said, 63 were due to co-morbidities and only seven were due to COVID-19. “This is very, very minimum and people need not fear,” he said. The government had enough stock of life-saving drugs, he said. It had 42,500 vials of remdesivir and ordered 60,000 more vials. It had procured 5,000 vials of tocilizumab and distributed low-molecular heparin to all medical college hospitals.
Dr. Vijayabaskar said the Chief Minister had allotted ₹76 crore to buy high-flow nasal oxygen cannulas that are used to supply oxygen at a constant pressure to patients. The State had the highest number of this equipment. The government had bought 43,000 pulse oximeters and given 10,000 pieces to Chennai Corporation alone for use at fever clinics.
In response to a question, the Minister denied any delay in testing samples. He assured the people that all testing agencies were declaring results between 24 and 36 hours.
Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani was present.