As the sequel of the exponential rise of COVID-19 cases and the need to address the crisis of the dearth in the medical infrastructure to treat the virus-hit patients, the Tamil Nadu government has issued a new order to cope with the challenge of accommodating the COVID-19 patients in the hospitals as the number of active cases has been in peak due to the unprecedented surge of fresh cases. 

As per the order, the private hospitals in the state are asked to reserve 50% of their total beds for the COVID-19 patients. According to reports, the Director of Medical and Rural Health Services has on Tuesday directed the private hospitals in the state to allocate 50% of their beds for the Corona patients. The private hospitals have also been directed to follow the protocols of the Central government and submit a daily report to the authorities. 

In the order, the Director of Medical and Rural Health Services said, "The rapid surge of COVID-19 positive cases in the second wave of the pandemic has resulted in increased need of hospitalization. The empanelled private hospitals are contributing to the healthcare services in addition to the designated government institutions in combat of this pandemic. In the view of the present circumstances, all the private hospitals are instructed to allocate at least 50% of the total beds exclusively for the COVID-19 patients."

The communique had advised the private hospitals to duly follow the norms as prescribed and it has further instructed to reduce the number of elective procedures and planned admissions. All the private hospitals are directed to submit a daily report to the Joint Director of Medical and Rural Health Services of the respective District/Director of Medical and Rural Health Services without fail and to regularly update the required details in the specified portal. 

The new order from the government has come when Tamil Nadu was preparing to enter a fresh episode of restrictions as the government has announced a night curfew from April 20 between 10 pm to 4 am to curb the virus spread. The government has also announced a weekend lockdown on Sundays and the restrictions will be in place till the end of April. The government had already restricted the functionings of the theaters, malls, and recreation centers to limit the movement of the people. 

On Tuesday, the state has reported nearly 11,000 fresh cases in a day. It has reported 10,986 cases, the highest single-day rise since the outbreak began, 6,250 discharges, and 48 deaths. According to the state health department, Tamil Nadu has recorded 10,13,378 cases so far as of Tuesday of which 79,804 are active, 9,20,369 have been discharged, and 13,205 had succumbed to the viral infection.