Cases to ebb soon as daily spike shrinking: Ma Subramanian

Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Monday, said that the spread of Omicron variant in the State is happening at a fast pace and it is expected to reduce after a peak. He said that after a rise in cases for past two weeks, the cases have started to declined on Sunday. 

The overall cases and those in Chennai are seeing a decline in since Saturday.

The State Health Department will increase testing across the State as people have travelled to their native places during Pongal. As more number of samples are tested, we can expect a surge in cases also.

Around 1.5 lakh samples are being tested on a daily basis and around 8,900 people are admitted for treatment in the State. Currently, around 1.19 lakh beds are available for treatment.

Talking about vaccination for children aged 15-18 years, he said that Tamil Nadu is nearing the 100 per cent coverage in terms of first dose with the help of government school authorities. The next focus will be on private institutions, Polytechnic colleges and ITI institutions to vaccinate the eligible population.

As more number of elderly with comorbidities have succumbed to the virus, the Health Minister said that those due or overdue for vaccination are being identified and it is a challenge to vaccinate them but door-to-door vaccination is being done for them. He urged the public to get elderly in their family vaccinated.

Talking about the booster dose, he said that only 1 per cent of 81,000 people have been given booster dose out of 4 lakh eligible people. He urged more frontline workers to come forward and get jabbed. With time, about 10 lakh people are likely to become eligible, thus, it is crucial for these people to get vaccinated with a booster dose. As many as 75 lakh vaccines doses are available in Tamil Nadu, he said.

He added that people have avoided gatherings during the festival complying with the lockdown regulations. Local police authorities have taken action against people who gathered at the Pattinapakkam beach as it will lead to clusters and is against the safety measures being undertaken to prevent the cases.

The Health Minister inspected the newly inaugurated bed facilities at Tambaram Siddha Hospital and said that there are 77 Siddha Covid Care Centres in the State. He also inspected VIT College Campus in the city and Tondiarpet Government Hospital.