Fresh Covid-19 cases pose challenge: Health minister

Coimbatore: The district remains ahead of other districts in terms of Covid vaccination, but over 200 daily fresh cases continue to pose challenges, health minister Ma Subramanian said here on Sunday.
“75% of the eligible population in Coimbatore have received the first dose of Covid vaccine, which is the highest in the state. Out of 29,27,149 people, 22,04,631 have received the first dose.Moreover, 1.5 lakh people were vaccinated in private hospitals. A total 7,18,335 have got the second dose, which is 25% of the population,” the minister, who was taking stock of the mass vaccination drive held in Pollachi, said.
While a high number of cases are reported in Kerala despite the best efforts of the government there, movement of people between Kerala and Coimbatore is unavoidable for occupational, trade, education and other purposes, the minister said. “The Coimbatore district administration is taking strict measures to keep the cases under check.”
“Today, we have 16 lakh vaccine doses in store and we are planning to exhaust the stock,” Subramanian said. He expressed concern over social distancing going for a toss during vaccination drives and sought cooperation from people to avoid crowds. Earlier in the day, the minister inaugurated two pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen generating plants with a total capacity of 1,670 litres per minute at Pollachi government hospital. The plants were sponsored by ACT Grants and National Highways Authority of India. He later inspected the Meenakshipuram check post on the Kerala border.TNN