Coronavirus scare: Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswami chairs meet, but what was on the table?

TNN | Mar 14, 2020, 04.03 AM IST

CHENNAI: When chief minister Eddapadi K Palanisami called for a review meeting with a battery of ministers and more than 35 IAS officials on Covid-19 at the secretariat, it looked like the government had finally woken up to the pandemic. But at the end of the meeting that lasted more than an hour, there were no announcements.

The press meeting called by health minister C Vijayabaskar was cancelled and a press release that was awaited did not come until late in the night. Officials in the health department said senior officials were travelling to Adhiyanoothu in Dindigul where the chief minister would lay the foundation for a medical college. A stage was being erected in an open field with a seating capacity of more than 15,000 and parking arrangements were made for more than 2,000 cars.

But the event could be a recipe for a disaster amid the pandemic. “This virus spreads by contact. We don’t know how many people in TN are carriers of the infection. In these circumstances, such large gatherings will provide a fertile field for an epidemic. No responsible government would do that,” said George Thomas, former editor of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics.

During the review meeting, officials discussed the need to invoke provisions of the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, 1938, Epidemic Act, 1897, and the Disaster Management Act, 2005. For the first time in eight weeks, the state decided it would invoke provisions under Disaster Management Act so they can get funds for contingency measures. The chief minister, who is the chairman of the State Disaster Management Authority, also agreed to release funds.

On the ground, senior officials from school

education, municipal administration and transport departments said they did not have funds to buy disinfectants, soap and sanitizers. Disinfecting surfaces, using soap solutions and hand sanitizers would push back the virus. “But where is the money” asked a senior official. “Till date, we have not been given any money to buy disinfectants,” he said. The state health department needs funds to augment quarantine facilities and beds.

Later, the commisionerate of school education announced that pre-KG, LKG and UKG classes in all schools across the state will remain shut from March 16 to 31. In border districts of Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Theni, Coimbatore, Tirupur and the Nilgiris, Classes I to V will remain suspended.

“Even that is too little. When two neighbours Kerala and Karnataka have reported cases, why should we restrict prevention measures to just borders?” said former city health officer P Kuganandam. “Children are vulnerable to infection. We should ask children up to Class VIII to stay at home.”