Chennai: As Tamilnadu reported 10,986 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, 75 per cent of beds in government facilities in Chennai were occupied, said sources, adding that if the cases continue to rise in this pattern, there would be an acute shortage of beds.
It is learnt that just 25 per cent beds were available at the five Covid facilities in the city four government medical college hospitals and government Covid hospital in Guindy which together have 4,368 beds. Totally, there were 3,269 Covid patients at these facilities.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services has instructed all empanelled private hospitals to set aside at least 50 per cent of total beds for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.
It has further instructed hospitals to reduce the number of elective procedures and planned admissions.
Dismissing a charge that some deaths at a hospital in Vellore district were due to shortage of oxygen supply, Tamilnadu Health Minister Dr C Vijayabaskar has claimed there was no scarcity of medical oxygen or Covid vaccines in the State.
Reacting to the charge that the deaths occurred at the Adukkamparai government hospital, Vellore, as the hospital ran out of oxygen supply – as claimed made by the kin of the diseased – he said, ‘the fatalities did not happen due to shortage of oxygen.’