MADURAI: In Tamil Nadu, 18 government medical college hospitals have been designated as exclusive COVID-19 hospitals that would henceforth treat patients with coronavirus infection from all the 37 districts.
According to an order dated April 2, the State Health Department directed the "transfer of all the COVID-19 positive patients to the exclusively designated COVID-19 hospitals as soon as the test results confirm positive, without any delay, duly following all the transfer protocols."
It further read that all the 37 districts have exclusive isolation rooms for admission and treatment of patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) or Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI), besides an exclusive quarantine facility in each district.
Sources said that the move was made keeping in mind the availability of many experts (pulmonologists and intensivists) and better infrastructure to accommodate and treat a greater number of patients at these exclusive COVID-19 hospitals.
In Southern Tamil Nadu, COVID-19 patients from Dindigul district would henceforth be treated at Government Karur Medical College Hospital. Similarly, patients from Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts would be treated at the Government Sivaganga Medical College Hospital, those from Madurai and Virudhunagar districts would be treated at Government Rajaji Hospital.
COVID-19 patients from Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts would be treated at the Government Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital. Meanwhile, patients from Theni and Kanniyakumari districts are to be treated at the government medical college hospitals in the respective districts.
As on Saturday, 10 patients from Virudhunagar district were shifted to Government Rajaji Hospital. Similarly, 43 coronavirus positive patients from Dindigul government hospital were shifted to the Government Karur Medical College Hospital.