COVID-19: Tamil Nadu chief secretary issues preventive instructions to departments

Nodal officers are to be appointed for the department at state and district levels. The name and phone number is to be shared with all other departments.

Help desk for COVID-19 checks the tempareture of a child at Egmore railway station. (Photo | Martin Louis, EPS)

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu chief secretary K Shanmugam on Tuesday issued a set of instructions on the preventive strategies to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the state. 

Addressing all secretaries, the Director-General of Police, heads of all departments, district collectors, registrars of all universities and Central Government institutions in the state, the chief secretary said that official meetings should be restricted to the use of video conferencing applications.

The following instructions have been issued to various departments:

• The Department of Health and Family Welfare is to establish a 24x7 district-level control room.
• Nodal officers are to be appointed for the department at state and district levels. The name and phone number is to be shared with all other departments.
• Ensuring availability of personal protective equipment kits, thermal scanners, triple-layer masks, N 95 masks and disinfectants like 1per cent hypochlorite and Lysol.
• Intensive course training to be given for government doctors, paramedical and other staff in the department.
• Due to shortage of hand sanitisers, the Deputy Director of health services to train Government and private hospitals to prepare sanitisers as per WHO guidelines.
• Collectors shall form a contact tracing team for tracing the persons who were in contact with the affected patient by mobilising personnel from revenue police and health departments.
• General public are advised to avoid visiting public offices and instead to communicate with officials using phone and email.
• All border check posts must be manned round-the-clock and personnel should be trained to take precaution and follow protocol to deal with patients with symptoms.
• Mass gathering should be discouraged by the police department, in view of the possibility of the spread of virus.
• The railways to screen the entry and exit points across in railway stations in the State with thermal scanner.
• The transport department to ensure disinfection of Government, omni and private buses with 1per cent hypochlorite and Lysol.
• The airport authority to screen all passengers from foreign countries and share the passengers list with the health department.
• The school education and higher education departments are to provide information about the travel to foreign countries find a student’s family members.
• Advise students to refrain from attending school if they have symptoms like fever cough or breathing difficulty and consult doctors.
• The animal husbandry department is instructed to avoid close contact with sick animals and advice hand washing after handling pet animals.
• The Municipal Administration, Rural Development and Water Supply department to educate authorities in-charge of temples, mosques and churches to screen pilgrims for viral symptoms and periodic disinfection.
• The tourism department is to restrict persons with symptoms from attending tourist spots.
• Houses with quarantined persons should be with mobbed with 5per cent Lysol or 1per cent hypochlorite solution, all the equipment, door handles and surfaces touched by the patient have to be wiped with 5per cent Lysol.
• All clothes and linen used by the patient is to be decontaminated with 1% hypochlorite solution. Separate dishes and utensils shoukd be served to the quarantined persons and should be cleaned later by the persons themselves.