Tamil Nadu has Rs.120 cr worth COVID-19 medication stock for three months, don’t panic: Health Secretary

Chennai: The Health Secretary of Tamil Nadu, Dr. J Radhakrishnan said on Thursday (April 15) that the people in the state do not have to worry because of the copious availability of medication to treat COVID-19 and other ailments in the state.

Addressing the media a day after Tamil Nadu saw its highest number of daily Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began, the Health Secretary reassured the public about the state’s robust healthcare system and the availability of beds right from Public health centers to secondary care hospitals among others. 

On Wednesday, Tamil Nadu witnessed 7,819 cases, which took the active cases to 54,315. 

Urging the public to not panic over the rising cases, the Health Secretary said that the state has been witnessing a low death rate of 1.35%. 

He said, “In cities like Chennai and Coimbatore more and more  people are choosing to get admitted in hospitals, hence there is a difficulty in getting beds. Now we have put in a system for screening patients who can be allocated beds based on requirement.”

“There are about 50,000 active cases now and the occupancy of beds n Tamil Nadu is around 10 percent, whereas it is 20 percent in Chennai city” said Radhakrishnan. 

He also added that the State government has requested the Centre to grant permission to inoculate athletes, differently-abled and shopkeepers, those who are aged below 45. 

Making a mention of the availability of drugs to treat COVID-19 and other ailments, he said that Tamil Nadu had stocks worth Rs.120 crore that would easily last 3 months. 

Separate teams have been formed to ensure the availability and uninterrupted supply of power, oxygen etc. at hospitals, along with the provision of diesel generators.

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