While inspecting the Chennai Trade Centre in Nandambakkam where the civic body is setting up a COVID care centre with oxygen beds, Corporation Commissioner G Prakash said 120 doctors and 100 nurses were appointed on Thursday on a temporary basis to carry out COVID related works.

“There are 200 doctors at mini clinics. A total of 320 doctors along with nurses will be deployed directly on the field. These doctors will visit the houses of patients under home quarantine. They will check the health condition of the patients and suggest medicines, “ Prakash said.

He added that the move has been taken to increase the quality of home quarantine monitoring, as the civic body expects 85 per cent of the patients would be under the home quarantine in the coming days. Of around 33,500 active cases in the city, 65 per cent to 70 per cent patients are presently under home quarantine. “The new system will be rolled out in a few days,” he said.

Meanwhile, the civic body has commenced works to set up a 1,000-bed COVID care centre at the Chennai Trade Centre. “Of them, 860 beds will have oxygen connection,” Prakash said.

Also, the civic body would convert the community health centres at Injambakkam and Manali, both with 100 beds each, into COVID hospital by modifying all beds with oxygen connection. The communicable disease hospital (CDH), Tondiarpet, which is maintained by the civic body, would have 240 oxygen beds.

“Government hospitals are also increasing the number of oxygen beds. In a few days, the city will have 3,000 to 3,500 oxygen beds,” he added.