Tamil Nadu health minister rules out lockdown possibility after Pongal

🔴 On Tuesday, the minister, alongside health secretary J Radhakrishnan, Chennai Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi and other officials visited an apartment in Chennai where as many as 10 people are infected with Covid-19.

By: Express Web Desk

Chennai | Updated: January 12, 2022 09:16 AM IST

3 min read

Talking about the Omicron variant, Subramanian said patients are being discharged even before the results are arriving from the National Institute of Virology. (File)

Ruling out a possibility of a lockdown in Tamil Nadu after Pongal, state Health Minister Ma Subramanian said following safety guidelines issued by the government and wearing masks are enough to tackle the current scenario of Covid-19.

“A complete lockdown is not necessary. Chief Minister MK Stalin doesn’t want the economy and the livelihood of the people to be affected. But at the same time, he wants the public to be 100 per cent safe and thus, we have restrictions in place. People need to follow that,” he added.

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Explaining the various arrangements being made in Chennai to curb the spread of the virus, the minister said, “Around 1,000 volunteers are on the ground helping those in home isolation. As many as 200 medical teams in Chennai which are identifying the Covid clusters. There are screening centres in 22 areas and the 904-bed Covid Care Centre at the Nandanam Trade Centre has started functioning,” he added.

Also Read | Several Covid clusters spring up in Chennai, neighbouring districts

Tuesday, the minister, alongside health secretary J Radhakrishnan, Chennai Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi and other officials visited an apartment in Chennai where as many as 10 people are infected with Covid-19. The officials enquired about those in home isolation and provided them with pulse oximeters. He said the patients will be virtually monitored and necessary help will be provided by the officials.

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Subramanian said those who have been infected with Covid-19 are differentiated into three categories. “Those who have a mild infection are being advised home Isolation, those who don’t have the necessary facility at home to isolate are advised to visit the Covid care centres and those with breathing issues or any other discomfort and people above 60 years with comorbidities who require immediate medical attention alone are being admitted to the hospitals,” he added.

Talking about the Omicron variant, Subramanian said patients are being discharged even before the results are arriving from the National Institute of Virology. “Among 100 Covid-19 cases, the S-gene drop is detected in 85 of them and the rest 15 are infected with the Delta variant,” he said.

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