CHENNAI: As COVID-19 cases are increasing fuelled by the Omicron, a highly transmissible variant, in Tamil Nadu, beds occupancy in COVID health centre and COVID designated hospitals have also increased in two weeks.
The comparison of beds status on December 26 and on Sunday showed that more people are occupying non-oxygen beds than oxygen and ICU beds.
The non-oxygen bed occupancy in CHC and CDH on December 26 was 4.1 per cent but it increased to 11.6 per cent on Sunday.
Active cases in the State also increased four times compared to what it was two weeks ago. Active cases were 6,629 on December 26 and on Sunday it increased to 51,335 cases.
On December 26, ICU beds occupancy was 4.5 per cent and oxygen beds occupancy stood at 3.1 per cent. On Sunday ICU beds occupancy was 4.4 per cent and oxygen beds occupancy was 6.2 per cent.
The test positivity rate was 0. 6 per cent two weeks ago but on Sunday it increased to 8.6 per cent. The state reported 610 cases on December 26 and on Sunday it reported 12,895 cases.
Chennai and its neighbouring districts Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Chengalpttu contributed to 68 per cent of cases on Sunday.
"We have instructed to increase an additional 50,000 beds in COVID Care Centres (CCC). If there is a need for more beds in future, in available places beds will be arranged. We are also focussing more on hospitalisation requirements. People who really need hospital care only will be admitted based on their clinical and blood parameters," Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan told TNIE.
He said that only 5,872 people (15% of the infected) were hospitalised.
While only one per cent of them are in ICU that to patients who were infected with the delta variant and comorbidities.
Radhakrishnan warned the private hospitals not to admit people who don't require hospital care and were asymptomatic. He also stressed that actions will be taken on those hospitals indulging in such activities.
The State has 17,960 oxygen concentrators, 217 oxygen generators and 1,700 metric ton oxygen storage capacity tankers, he said.
Health Minister Ma Subramanian claimed that Omicron was the major contributor to the surge in cases in the state.
He said, "Of the samples tested daily, 80-85 per cent have 's' gene drop, a marker for Omicron variant. Only 14 to 15 per cent of delta variants in the State. Among the people infected with the Omicron variant, 90 per cent of them were fully vaccinated."
Noted virologist Dr T Jacob John warned that COVID cases in Tamil Nadu might increase up to 40,000 in the coming days.
He said, "At this rate, daily cases in the State might increase up to 40,000 or more, but no one can really predict the peak. It is clear that like in other countries, in India too the cases are rapidly increasing."
"As we are densely populated when compared to developed countries, the peak will be much higher. But, again we have to wait and see. To prevent complications and deaths, blood tests should be done on patients who tested positive on the first day, and also should be repeated on the third or fifth day. By this, the abnormal biomarkers can be known, and those patients can be treated accordingly," said Dr K Kolandaswamy, former Director of Public Health.