NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, MARCH 7
The state health department will convert at least two hospitals into exclusive quarantine facilities situated in the outskirt of Chennai city and Madurai to take in patients landing with symptoms of Covid-19, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar said.
The TB Sanatorium in Tambaram and a similar hospital in Thoppur in Madurai will be equipped with critical care facilities including ventilators and infectious disease experts, he told reporters after visiting the Chennai airport.
“When the facility is ready, we will not be moving patients showing symptoms of the viral infection in to medical college hospitals,” he said. “This will also ensure we limit the spread of infection during transit and stay,” he said.
The state has kept around 300 beds in medical college and district headquarters hospitals across the state for managing the infection. A few beds have been kept ready at the Communicable Diseases Hospital in Tondiarpet.
“We made plans when we first heard of the outbreak in China and its threat. We have adequate masks and personal safety equipment for all health workers. We have stocked adequate amount of medicines such as paracetamols, antivirals and vitamins that may be required for treatment of fever symptoms,” he said.
Private hospitals have been asked to follow standard of care. “We don’t have to panic. What we need is to follow hygiene rules,” he said.
