Taking stock of the pandemic situation, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday urged district collectors, where COVID-19 vaccination is low, to step up awareness on vaccines among public.
WHO representatives in India Dr KN Arun Kumar and Dr K Surendran presenting 100 oxygen concentrators
Chennai:
“In cities like Chennai and Coimbatore there is high awareness and so 30 per cent of people above 60 years have got vaccinated, but in districts like Tirunelveli, Nagapattinam, Tiruvannamalai and Tiruvarur the awareness is low so that only 5 per cent of people above 60 years have got vaccinated. The concerned district collectors should work towards increasing awareness about vaccines among senior citizens,” said Stalin, in the meeting with district collectors, through video conferencing.
The state government on Saturday issued orders for complete lockdown from Monday and based on the announcement, Stalin asked district collectors to enforce the lockdown strictly. “Collectors should not see the complete lockdown as a mere law and order problem. It is a social issue. To contain the spread of COVID-19 the chain of infection should be broken,” said Stalin, who also said that complete lockdown is implemented for a safe society and Collectors should take this information to public.
Stalin also instructed the district collectors to ensure that essential items such as vegetables, fruits, milk and water are made available to people, during the complete lockdown. Collectors should also ensure that in-patients receive proper food, milk and water.
Stalin also asked the Collectors to utilise the one-week complete lockdown period to increase testing and to conduct more COVID-19 camps. The one-week time should be utilised to visit people directly in their houses and to identify people with symptoms.
Collectors were also directed to ensure that vaccination is not affected by any means during the lockdown and to ensure that there is no oxygen deficiency in the hospitals.
Rs 50 cr allotted for RT-PCR kits
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister announced that out of total Rs 181 crore collected under Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund (CMPRF) as on Sunday, Rs 50 crore would be allotted for purchasing RT-PCR tests. Already Rs 50 crore had been allotted for purchasing Remdesivir and for purchasing oxygen cylinders to transport oxygen from other states through trains.
COVID care charges in private hospitals fixed
The state government on Sunday issued an order to fix the price of treatment for COVID-19 patients under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS) in private hospitals.
The state government has allocated an amount of Rs 1,030.77 crores under CMCHIS in the financial year 2021-22 for COVID-19 treatment and charges will be reimbursed to the private hospitals.
The daily charges for non-critical care without oxygen support is Rs 5,000, while non-critical care with oxygen support is Rs 15,000.
The hospitals can charge a maximum of Rs 35,000 on a daily basis for ICU care with ventilator support and ICU with Non-invasive Ventilation - BiPAP/CPAP is Rs 30,000. Meanwhile, the ICU care with oxygen support (as stepping down) can be charged Rs 25,000 in a private hospital.
The hospitals not enrolled in CMCHIS can charge Rs 7,500 for A1 and A2 category, while 5,000 for A3 to A6 for non-critical without oxygen support.
Stalin urges Rajnath to rescue 16 missing fishermen
Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday urged Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to take steps to locate and rescue 16 fishermen who went missing during the Cyclone Tauktae. The 16 fishermen —12 from Kanyakumari and four from West Bengal —had venture into the sea on May 5 from Beypore fishing harbour in Kozhikode district of Kerala and were reported missing since then. The 16 fishermen went for fishing in a vessel named Amir Sha, owned by one Sabish, from Kerala. Stating that search operations were being carried out by the Indian Coast Guard authorities, he said the families of the fishermen and the fishing community were in state of anxiety as they did not know about the whereabouts of the fishermen. “I request you to take steps to rescue the missing fishermen,” Stalin said in his letter to Rajnath Singh.
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