CHENNAI: With Tamil Nadu reporting Omicron cases, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan sent a message to all the district collectors and health department officials instructing to review the inventory of health facilities including beds, oxygen beds, ICUs, ventilators, medicines and human resources. He wanted updated data with the Covid-19 control room. He also instructed to increase the pace of vaccination.
In his message, Radhakrishnan said this is the time to ensure that challenges are addressed and public health regulations enforced and monitored, apart from sticking to and following up on appropriate protocols and measures communicated from time to time.
Mask and social distancing adherence is extremely low in public places and also in places of crowding both outdoors and indoors. Mask compliance should be enforced through coordination with all regulatory departments and also NGO stakeholders actively working in the field, he said.
The Health Secretary also instructed the officials to increase the pace of vaccinations of the unvaccinated and those due for second dose. "Due to very low occupancy, many wards would be temporarily unoccupied and would need cleaning up and updation of available bed numbers," Radhakrishnan said.
He also stressed on putting up additional information, education and communication (IEC) flex boards, covering details of higher transmissibility of the variant.
Saturation tests at cluster areas, wherever reported or identified, including work places and institutional clusters, if any, should be carried out apart from routine testing of all symptomatic and additional random testing at crowded places, the Health Secretary said. "We should also advise those who give tests to self-isolate, till the results come, to avoid further accidental spread."
He also instructed officials to counter hearsay and unverified social media messages that create confusion with correct health messages.