Edappadi K Palaniswami lays stone for Dindigul govt medical college

MADURAI: Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, who laid the foundation stone for the Rs 327 crore government medical college in Dindigul, on Saturday took the opportunity to ask the people to take necessary precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“This virus is said to have spread to 118 countries and we have to take necessary precautions being detailed by the health department through the media and newspapers.Any person with symptoms of cough, fever or breathlessness should report to the nearest hospital,” he said.
Though the government has been discouraging large gatherings and asking people to also avoid unnecessary travel, over 15,000 people gathered at the venue of the government medical college at Adhiyanoothu village panchayat in Odukkam. However, all of them were provided with hand sanitizer and asked to disinfect themselves before entering the venue. Police and other officials wore masks and arrangement was made for health officials to demonstrate how people should wash their hands to remain free of the infection.
Listing out the achievements of the AIADMK government, he said it was their endeavour to excel in all departments of administration. The number of medical seats in Tamil Nadu since Independence up to 2011 was only 1,945. Only as many students could enter the medical education system every year. Late chief minister J Jayalalithaa enhanced it by 885. Last year, his government obtained 350 more seats from the Union government and now 1,650 new seats were to be created in the 11 new medical colleges being established in the districts. The Tamil Nadu government is the only one to have achieved this yeoman task in just one and a half years, he said.
He said 70% of the deliveries in Tamil Nadu happened in government hospitals and 90% of the medical vacancies had been filled in the state. As many as 31,616 vacancies of doctors had also been filled, he said. Deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam, health minister Dr C Vijaya Baskar, minister Dindigul C Srinivasan, health secretary Dr Beela Rajesh, Dindigul district collector M Vijayalakshmi among others were present.