CHENNAI: Minister for Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare KG Arunraj said that to tackle seasonal illnesses, TN has conducted 11,322 special fever camps from August 28 till Monday, benefiting over 4.34 lakh people, with plans to operate 1,000 camps daily statewide.
Of these, 3,401 were identified as fever cases, 17,024 were cough/cold cases, and 436 were diarrhea cases. Talking to reporters during the White Coat Ceremony held at the Madras Medical College for the 2026-2027 academic year, Arunraj said there are 15,933 positive cases and nine fatalities so far in 2026.
In 2025, the total cases were 25,585. As part of preventive measures, 25,645 anti-mosquito workers are deployed daily across TN for door-to-door inspection and removal of stagnant rainwater and breeding sites.
He highlighted the significant steps taken to strengthen the medical workforce. The health department has regularised 2,500 nurses as permanent staff and is immediately recruiting 4,724 nurses through District Health Societies.
This merit-based recruitment uses a standard mark-awarding system to urgently resolve nursing shortages in PHCs, district hospitals, and medical colleges. Additionally, a new state nursing policy will be notified shortly via GO to update guidelines last framed 12 years ago.
When asked about the confusion among sanitary workers receiving contradictory instructions from the mayor and other officials, the minister said there must be seamless coordination between elected local body representatives to ensure smooth public service delivery without confusion.