No need to panic about COVID as government has taken all steps, says CM

Chennai

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who chaired a meeting at the Secretariat on Thursday to discuss ways to manage and control the spread of COVID-19, urged people not to panic as the government had taken all necessary steps to protect them.

A government press release said Health Secretary P. Senthilkumar explained the State’s preparedness and pointed out that the government had stepped up monitoring and whole genome sequencing, in accordance with a circular issued by the Union Health Secretary.

“What is causing the infection in Tamil Nadu is the XBB variant, which is a recombinant of BA-2. The BF-7, which is causing a spike in some Asian countries, is also a sub-variant of BA-5, and it was mainly responsible for the infections reported in Tamil Nadu in June, July and August,” he said.

The Health Secretary said that even though the infection rate had come down, government hospitals had adequate beds, medicines, oxygen and testing facilities.

“Medical officials have been advised to do whole genome sequencing and monitor the infection including influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infections (ILI and SARI),” he said.

The Chief Minister advised health officials to implement standard operating procedures (SOP) for COVID-19 management, particularly in places where people gathered in large numbers and indoor auditoriums.

He also advised officials to follow the SOP in the international airport and provide treatment to passengers with symptoms of COVID-19.