Facing the second wave of COVID-19

A year of challenges for the health sector

The year 2021 was nothing less than a challenging one for Tamil Nadu’s health sector. The surge in COVID-19 cases from the end of March wreaked havoc on the State as it ran out of hospital beds and grappled with acute shortage of medical oxygen to save patients.

Though daily infections had gradually dipped at the start of the year, the relief was short-lived as the Delta variant drove an exponential rise in daily cases, resulting in the second wave of COVID-19 infections. Cases surged rapidly, reaching the highest daily load of 36,184 on May 21.

Chennai, which turned into a COVID-19 hotspot, saw its daily cases rise to 7,564 on May 12, days after a new government was sworn in. Hospitals, particularly government institutions, were flooded with patients, while ambulances carrying patients lined up outside the institutions as beds, especially oxygen-supported and ICU beds, and medical oxygen became scarce. The severity in infections led to a rise in fatalities. Tamil Nadu recorded the most number of deaths — 493 — on May 30. The peak positivity was 20.78%, according to official data. A complete lockdown came into force on May 10 that gave the much-needed breather for hospitals and their workforce as well as time to scale up infrastructure. Increasing the oxygen capacity and beds were among the main challenges for the government.