CHENNAI: Health Minister Ma Subramanian and Health Secretary P Senthilkumar oversaw a mock drill at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) on Tuesday to assess the preparedness of infrastructure for Covid-19 management.
Mock drills would be conducted in all the hospitals across the state. The Union Health Ministry earlier advised a nationwide mock drill be conducted in all districts amid a surge of Covid-19 cases in China, Japan, Brazil, and the US.
Speaking to media at RGGGH, Subramanian said, the health secretary will instruct all heads of the government hospitals to review facilities and submit a report within 24 hours. All heads should review the availability of medicines, oxygen concentrators and cylinders, and beds for 12 hours. Private hospitals must a report within 48 hours.
Officials were instructed to check localities where Covid Care Centres had been opened during the second wave. Meanwhile, after international airports resumed 2% random testing on Saturday, over 500 passengers were tested for Covid-19. None tested positive, so far, said the minister Subramanian.
The minister instructed people not to worry as the state was prepared to tackle any Covid-19 situation. “When the government took charge, there was only 200 metric tonnes of medical oxygen in stock. Today, the state has 1,954 metric tonnes of oxygen. During the pandemic, the usage was 400 metric tonnes a day. The requirement in hospitals is now 60 to 65 metric tonnes,” he added,
People should continue to follow Covid-19 guidelines since many restrictions have not been relaxed, he said.