COVID-19: More Tests, Protective Equipment and Transparency Needed In Tamil Nadu

In an exclusive penned for The Hindu on Wednesday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami wrote about the efforts of his government in containing the spread of COVID-19. The CM wrote that “the world is watching us to know how we are going to tackle the deadly virus”. But, the on-ground reality of preventive measures tell a different story. Even though the government has announced relief measures, its health staff remains in peril.

The lack of Personal Protective Equipments (PPE) for staff deputed to work in the COVID-19 wards poses a severe threat. A lack of testing and inadequate preventive measures for the concerned staff are contrary to the CM’s claims.

LACK OF PROTECTION FOR STAFF

The image of a couple of doctors attending to patients in the COVID-19 isolation ward was widely shared on social media this week. The doctors were wearing aprons and masks used for surgical purposes and not the ones recommended for treating COVID-19 patients. Their necks, and parts of their faces were left uncovered, leaving them vulnerable to an attack. This happened despite tall claims by the government on the availability of N95 masks and PPEs. The minister of health and family welfare Dr C. Vijaya Baskar went on to claim that the state could even donate these essential items to neighbouring states, if necessary.

Dr G. Raveendranath, general secretary of Doctors’ Association for Social Equality said: “If there was adequate stock, why are the medical staff not being provided with those kits? Recently, the Chief Minister also tweeted that the government ordered for more N-95 masks. Since the first case was reported much earlier, why did the government wait for so long to order the masks?”

DELAY AFFECTING MEDICOS AND PUBLIC

On the other hand, the government claims to have fared extraordinarily in containing the COVID-19 spread, but a delay in procuring life-saving goods is affecting all sections of society. On March 29, a 29-year old doctor, her ten-month-old baby and two of her family members residing in Coimbatore tested positive. The doctor contracted the virus from a patient who had come in contact with a Thailand national admitted to Erode Medical College.

This was the first case of a doctor testing positive for COVID-19. If necessary PPEs are issued to her, she and her family members would have been protected from the spread. Even after understanding the ill-effects of the virus, the government and the health department seems so reluctant in taking all preventive measures”, said Dr. Raveendranath.

LACK OF TESTS AND TRANSPARENCY CONTINUES

The health secretary, Dr. Beela Rajesh, said that 2,726 tests have been conducted done so far, despite claiming that the state has the capacity to conduct five thousand tests per day. There are seventeen testing facilities out of which eleven are in government hospitals. Private labs are permitted to charge up to Rs 4,500 for conducting a COVID-19 test. At a time when the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been calling for a higher number of tests, the numbers in the state remain very low. The second patient who had tested positive in the state travelled from Delhi to Chennai via train and the government delayed in releasing details, rendering co-passengers and the general public vulnerable.

The state government delayed the release of details of the second patient, leaving many others under threat of contracting the virus. The case of three people who died in Kanyakumari medical college and hospital has been reported as them having suffered from a kidney ailment and pneumonia. The reason given seems manipulated as the virus leads to such ailments in its advanced stage”, added Raveendranath.

INCREASE TESTING TO STOP COMMUNITY SPREAD

The state now has 234 positive cases and is third only to Maharashtra and Kerala, with 77,330 people under home quarantine. The number of tests being conducted is also lower than the numbers being done in Kerala and Karnataka. “More number of tests are required to prevent a community spread,” said Dr. Rex Sargunam of Tamil Nadu Science Forum, affiliated to the All India Peoples Science Network.

South Korea was highly successful in preventing community spread by doing more number of tests. The government should carry out cluster quarantine, an effective measure to prevent the spread. Here, in Tamil Nadu, health workers are asked to buy the masks themselves, so leave testing aside. Also the cost of testing in private labs is too high to be afforded by ordinary people. The bureaucracy has not risen to the occasion in such a pandemic, leading to the lack of quick action on different fronts,” he added.

CURFEW COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE

When the lockdown was announced in Tamil Nadu, close to two lakh people left Chennai over the next twelve hours and headed for their home-towns. People were afraid due to the loss of livelihood and left the city in a hurry violating advice on social distancing.

The curfew announcement became counter-productive as people were travelling in packed buses from Chennai to their towns. Migrant labourers still face hardship as they do in many other states. To counter this pandemic, more proactive measures like care homes for the elderly should be ensured,” added Dr. Rex.

The government has ensured the functioning of the ‘AMMA Canteens’ across the state to ensure supply of food for the shelter-less and underprivileged. The Chennai corporation has also undertaken steps to check all the houses, but a lot more action is needed, including the improvement of medical infrastructure.