Expert panel to meet CM again on May 30

Expert panel to meet CM again on May 30

Lockdown did not feature in discussions held on Tuesday

27/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Disregard for distancing: People queuing up outside a ration shop in Salem on Tuesday. E. Lakshmi Narayanan

The team of public health and medical experts, constituted by the State government to provide advice on containing COVID-19, took part in a meeting with Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday. Their next meeting is scheduled for May 30, when the panel is expected to provide its recommendation on whether the lockdown should be extended beyond May 31.

“We did not discuss the lockdown during the meeting with the Chief Minister today (Tuesday). But we are meeting again on Saturday,” a member of the panel said.

Tuesday’s meeting featured discussions on the ways in which testing and quarantine measures could be consolidated, since many persons arriving here from other States were testing positive for COVID-19, he said.

An official press release said the Chief Minister issued instructions to officials on prevention and containment activities in the State.

Discussions on various testing strategies to be undertaken, treatment protocols to be followed, steps needed to reduce the number of deaths, identification of vulnerable groups and ensuring preparedness in hospitals were held during Tuesday’s meeting, it added.

Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar, Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam, Health Secretary Beela Rajesh, Commissioner of the Greater Chennai Corporation G. Prakash, WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan (via videoconference) and senior medical experts participated in the meeting.