12,500 oxygen beds getting ready, Remdesivir to be available in 5 districts

The country is facing a severe shortage of medical oxygen

The Tamil Nadu government is readying 12,500 beds with oxygen lines on a war-footing to meet the escalating demand for such beds for the Coronavirus infected in government hospitals, Minister for Medical and Family Welfare Ma Subramanian said on Saturday.

In order to ensure that Remdesivir is freely available in other parts of Tamil Nadu, the government would make available the anti-viral drug at Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Salem, Coimbatore and Tirunelveli for sale over the counter as is being done at the Kilpauk Government Medical College Hospital here, the minister said.

Maintaining that the creation of additional infrastructure will help doctors cope with the increasing demand for hospital beds with oxygen supply in all the government hospitals in the state, the minister said these beds will be ready by May 15.

"The 200-year-old Stanley medical college hospital here will get additional 750 such beds from Monday," the minister told reporters after inspecting the oxygen plant and RT-PCR lab at the hospital here on Saturday.

On Friday, during an inspection by Chief Minister

M K Stalin at the health facility in the Chennai Trade Centre, health officials had sought the creation of additional 12,500 beds with oxygen lines at government hospitals in the state.

And the chief minister immediately consented, the minister said.

"The situation is not so acute as in some of the north Indian states as being reported by the media.There is no shortage of medical oxygen in Tamil Nadu," Subramanian said in reply to a question.

He insisted that the priority of the government is to protect the people against the infection and the two-week lockdown from May 10, announced by Stalin, should be seen as a measure to break the virus chain.

The government would also explore ways to step up oxygen production in the state, he added.

To another question, Subramanian, accompanied by Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department P K Sekarbabu and health secretary J Radhakrishnan during the inspection, said the inoculation drive against Coronavirus would continue unabated during the lockdown period.

Earlier in the day, the Tamil Nadu government announced complete lockdown from 4 am of May 10 to 4 am of May 24, to curtail the rising coronavirus graph.

"We have opened a war room' to carry out Corona prevention operations on a war-footing," he added.