Chennai, April 28(BPNS)

The Greater Chennai Corporation is planning to increase the number of screening centres and vaccination centres across the city as there is a huge crowd waiting at these centres creating major health and administrative issues.

In Vadapalani at a screening centre people have to wait from 2 to 5 hours for the screening to be done which would normally have taken 30 minutes to complete.

Rajashekharan 49, a private software company employee while speaking to BPNS said, “The situation is grave, I had been to a screening centre at Valasaravakkam on Monday and I had to wait for more than 3 hours to complete the screening. There was very little staff and there was a huge crowd. We don’t know who all are positive and disease will spread if this continues.”

However Greater Chennai corporation officials are planning to have more screening and vaccination centres in the city as the number of containment zones have increased.

Presently with two doctors and one X-ray machine each centre can cater to a maximum of 100 patients a day while the daily surge of crowds is more than 500  and hence the decision to open more centres.

The corporation, according to officials ,is planning to add 18 more screening centres to manage the crowd but with the number of containment zones on the rise and Covid positive cases surging this may not be enough.

Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Ashok Pillar in Ashok Nagar while speaking to BPNS said, “There needs to be 5 screening centres at each Zone and then only we may be able to manage. People are now moving out without any hindrance and this has to be stopped by taking effective measures. Otherwise, there will not be any respite and instead the cases will surge ahead wherein no one will be able to put a break to this. I think Chennai corporation will immediately increase the number of screening and vaccination centres and bring things under control.”