CHENNAI: The city corporation is planning to release information online on the availability of crematoriums and burial grounds in the city, Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi told reporters on Saturday.
Along with this, senior corporation officials will have feeds from crematoriums and burial grounds streamed on mobile phones and computers to monitor the situation, he added.
He said this while inspecting the activities of trainee doctors at the COVID-19 control room in Teynampet.
However, Bedi said there was no unusual rush in crematoriums and burial grounds in the city.
“There may be increased waiting time outside crematoriums where there may be maintenance issues. We have found three such places in the city and I’ve expressed my displeasure in the machinery breaking down at this point in time. We have asked zonal authorities to set it right within a specified time,” Bedi said.
The Commissioner said that at the Chennai Trade Centre, there are 69 people currently being accommodated in beds with oxygen support and another 30 people at the Tondiarpet Covid Care centre. A similar facility at Injambakkam will begin functioning in a day or two after obtaining clearance from the medical teams and setting up a power backup facility.
However, these facilities do not encourage direct admission and those in government hospitals who are on the road to recovery or who may receive oxygen support may be transferred here.
After their training on Friday, trainee medical officers began taking charge at the COVID-19 control rooms, getting in touch with those under home isolation and monitoring their symptoms, among other duties.
“Patients may brief the doctors on their symptoms and get medical advice. Through the doctors, we will also confirm if volunteers are assisting them and if the yellow bags for biomedical waste have reached them. If they require hospitalisation, zonal authorities may be contacted and patients may go for treatment in the car ambulances,” Bedi said.
Minister of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments PK Sekarbabu also held a review meeting on COVID-19 preventive measures being undertaken in the city on Saturday evening.