Experts want state to unlock in phases, 1st in dists with fewer cases

Experts want state to unlock in phases, 1st in dists with fewer cases

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:03.06.2021

An expert panel at a meeting with chief minister M K Stalin on Monday has suggested that lifting of lockdown in the state must be staggered as the three-week shutdown has not brought down cases uniformly across Tamil Nadu. The state government, however, must continue to make efforts to augment beds and human resources across districts to handle subsequent waves and infections in children, the panel said.

Doctors pointed out at the meeting about cases peaking at different districts at different times. For instance, while cases in Chennai region have dropped drastically, fresh cases continue to swell in parts of western region. Even within the region, cases in Erode are increasing, but the count in Coimbatore has started declining. “Extending lockdown in a region that has lower infection rate and empty hospital wards may not make sense. Health policies must make economic sense too,” said National Institute of Epidemiology deputy director Dr Prabhdeep Kaur. The decision to tighten or reduce curbs should be made based on district-level epidemiological factors, she said.

TN may get a lab for genome sequencing

As new variants of the SARS-Cov 2 emerge across the globe, officials in the state public health laboratory drafted aproposal to set up a whole genome sequencing lab for Tamil Nadu. If approved, TN will get its own lab to sequence genomic code of the virus by the end of June at a cost of ₹2 crore.P 4

‘Upgrade health infra in tier-2 cities, small towns’

High positivity rate, increase in number of cases or deaths, high occupancy rate in hospitals, and doubling time of infection are some of the factors that must be considered while deciding on restrictions, she said.

Experts also discussed the need to upgrade health infrastructure and human resources in tier-2 cities and smaller towns. Deans Dr E Theranirajan and Dr R Jayanthi said the state should ask doctors to stop prescribing steroids for long duration to prevent infections such as mucormycosis (black fungus).

WHO chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan said the state should prepare to handle subsequent waves. Besides protecting the unvaccinated vulnerable population — elderly and people with comorbidities — the state has to draft policies to protect children in the subsequent waves, she said.