Chennai: A controversy has kicked up from some quarters that there are insufficient beds, ventilators and ICU facilities in hospitals.
However, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar has refuted the reports and said that the State administration is ready to take care of all patients, in case the infection rises.
He stated that there are 75,000 hospital beds in Tamilnadu with all facilities. Today, he held a meeting with representatives from 400 private hospitals and government hospitals looking at ways in which they could allocate additional beds for Covid-19 patients.
The Minister said that any patient could get a bed at any of the government hospital or in ESI hospitals which have 5000 beds. He said there was 17,433 beds available at private and Government Covid Care Centres.
The State government also released a list of government and private hospitals with the number of beds and contact numbers.
Out of 14 government hospitals in the city, with a total of 9,644 beds, 5,069 is reserved for Covid-19 patients.
In 28 private hospitals where Covid-19 patients are allowed to be admitted, only 4,432 beds are for Coronavirus patients. They have a total of 15,663 beds.