Covid: Chennai to get 2,400 oxygen beds, 24×7 centres


Chennai: As many as 2400 oxygen beds will be added in Chennai to handle Covid-patients, said MA Siddique, Secretary of Commercial Taxes, who has been nominated as special coordinator for Greater Chennai Corporation.

Speaking to the media today, he said, ‘today itself, 250 beds have been added each to the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Egmore and to the Government Royapettah hospital.’

He also said that the Chennai corporation has added nine new triage/screening centres to the existing 12 centres functioning across city corporation limits at present.

The new centres will ensure that residents who test positive for coronavirus will not have to travel far to be screened.

‘At present, city residents who experience even mild Covid 19 symptoms, especially during nights, rush to our government hospitals directly because they are anxious. This may prevent someone suffering from more severe symptoms like breathlessness from being treated on priority,’ he said.

The round-the-clock screening centre will allow those patients to be checked and recommended home isolation or hospital/care centre admission based on the symptoms.