KARAIKAL: The district administration appealed to public not to buy masks and said panic-buying deprived health workers of protective gear.
The officials in Karaikal district administration addressed the press in the Collectorate in the presence of Puducherry Agriculture Minister R Kamalakannan on Monday.
Asked about shortage of masks in the district, health officials said masks were required more for health workers than general public. “Panic-buying is depriving people who need it, like health workers, doctors, patients, and patient-attenders in Karaikal. All public need not buy it. All the supply is going to pharmacies as there is huge demand. There is no need for public to buy make in panic,” said K Mohanraj, deputy director of the health services department.
According to officials, the medical community in Karaikal is about a thousand people including 350 health services workers and 330 staffs in Karaikal General Hospital. The patients are also in need of masks.
According to officials, around 149 people have returned to Karaikal from abroad, and 129 people have been asked to quarantine themselves. The officials also updated the status of facilities in Karaikal and stated that the facilities in Karaikal had been improved as of Monday. “We have added 140 beds in the General Hospital in Karaikal, in case of an outbreak. We have six beds in the isolation ward. When people are diagnosed coronavirus positive, they would be shifted to these beds,” said S Mathan Babu, Regional Medical officer, Karaikal Government General Hospital.