Fight against virus: 200 oxygen beds provided in Thoppur

MADURAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin, on Friday, inaugurated the Covid Care Centre with 200 oxygen-supported beds at Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine in Thoppur. Earlier last week, Minister for Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, Ma Subramanian, during his inspection in Madurai assured that a 500-bedded-facility with oxygen support would be established in Thoppur in a week time. 

The facility has been established with the help of Corporate Social Responsibility funds from G Square Realtors, a Chennai based real estate company and Megha Engineering and CREDAI. Each bed is facilitated with an oxygen concentrator machine, an electric steam vapouriser machine and a pedestal fan. Separate toilets for Covid patients have also been constructed.

Further, the companies have assured to stand by the government during the unprecedented times and provide 4,000 to 10,000 beds across the State. Health officials also assured that the remaining 300 beds with oxygen support would soon be established. 

The CM has directed the officials concerned to bring the CCC facility in Thoppur immediately. Also present on the occasion were Health Minister Ma Subramanian, Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration, P Moorthy, Madurai MP Su Venkatesan and Thoothukudi MP MK Kanimozhi.

The district administration said that 3,63,599 RT-PCR tests were done since March 15, of which 30,521 tested positive. Of the 1,101 oxygen supported beds earmarked for Covid patients in the GHs, 1,052 have been occupied and 371 are vacant as of the May 20, 8 pm report, while 351 of the 353 beds have been occupied. Only two more are vacant.