Abstract

The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu was reported on 7th March 2020. The largest single-day spike (30,987 cases) was reported on 13th May 2020 and Tamil Nadu now has the fourth highest number of confirmed cases in India after Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka. All 37 districts of the state are affected by the pandemic, with capital district Chennai being the worst affected. As per the Health Department, 88% of the patients are asymptomatic while 84% of deaths were among those with co-morbidities. The state government has responded to the outbreak by following a contact-tracing, testing and surveillance model. The state has 85 laboratories approved by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), capable of conducting tests among from that our hospital also permitted to do RTPCR. The state has been under a lockdown since 25th March 2020. Scudder Memorial Hospital has been providing quality healthcare for the past 155 years in and around Ranipet. In Scudder memorial hospital planning meeting on control measures was conducted and then admission for COVID 19 positive cases was started from 17th March 2020. Decisions Taken in the Planning meeting and quickly act on taking care of COVID 19 patient with minimum facilities. • All staff should wear mask compulsory. • Training to all staff regarding universal precautions to prevent COVID 19 spread. • Restriction of visitors and provided hospital well balanced diet to patients. • Separate clinic called ‘Fever Clinic’ and swab taking area for patients reporting with symptoms. • Crowd management in all areas such as registration, billing, pharmacy, laboratory, OPDs etc. We converted 100 beds out of 200; staff nurses duties were changed as 6-6-12 hrs to avoid unnecessary exposures. Classification of patients was done as mild to moderate with the patient’s parameters.