City: Chennai

A harrowing tale from last year was my attempt to find shelter for a homeless, mentally ill man, Kumaresan, during the height of the pandemic. My many attempts finally secured a place for him at a shelter run by the NGO, The Banyan. Kumaresan’s story had a fruitful outcome, or so I thought, until recently.  After a few weeks had passed, some of my friends told me that Kumaresan had returned to Perambur and he could be seen on the streets again. As I had not personally come across him, I did not believe them and continued with my routine.…

Geared fully in a PPE suit in the harsh Chennai summer, Dr M Keerthi Varman attends to COVID patients at the Stanley Medical College Hospital. Throughout six continuous hours of his duty, he shuttles between the outpatient ward, where he assesses the condition of COVID patients and the 'zero delay' ward, where immediate care and oxygen support have to be provided to patients with no time lost in the admission process. Work in a COVID ward demands more than the usual share of care and alertness. "A patient once removed his oxygen mask to use the restroom. It could have…

It is utopian to imagine a world without plastic, and it has its uses. At the same time, excessive utilisation of plastic without safeguards for disposal of waste can do immense harm. It is likely to cause various health issues affecting hormones, lungs, nerves, and the overall immune system. Sometimes, it may even lead to cancer. Over the years there has been a felt need for more information on how Chennai fares with regard to microplastic pollution in the air. To find out about this, a group of researchers from Pondicherry University embarked on a mission to estimate the strength…

Black Fungus declared as notifiable disease The state government announced that mucormycosis (also known as black fungus) infection as a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Act. The actual count of the disease reported in the state will be accounted for once the private hospitals notify the disease to the Director of Public Health. No deaths have been reported in the state as a result of black fungus. Seven patients have had their vision affected by the fungus. Six cases have been treated at the Government Ophthalmic Hospital, Egmore. Sankara Nethralaya, a Chennai-based hospital, has seen 13 cases of black fungus…

Translated by Sandhya Raju தன் தந்தையின் ஆக்சிஜன் செறிவு அளவு 78 ஆக குறைந்தபோது, ஈசிஆர்-ல் வசிக்கும் இந்துலேகாவிற்கு (பெயர் மாற்றப்பட்டுள்ளது) பதட்டம் தொற்றிக்கொண்டது. தன் 72 வயது தந்தைக்கு தனியார் மருத்துவமனையில் சிகிச்சை அளிக்கும் நிலை அவருக்கு இல்லை. "வென்டிலேடர் சிகிச்சைக்கு நாள் ஒன்றுக்கு இரண்டு லட்சம் செலவாகும் என்றார்கள். எங்களை போன்ற நடுத்தர வர்க்கத்தினர் இதை எப்படி சமாளிக்க முடியும்" என வினவும் இந்துலேகாவிற்கு அரசு மருத்துவமனை தான் ஒரே தீர்வு. மே மாதம் 4-ஆம் தேதி ராஜீவ் காந்தி அரசு மருத்துவமனை மற்றும் ஸ்டான்லி மருத்துவமனை வாசலில் மணிக்கணக்காக காத்துக் கிடந்தனர். "104 உதவி மையத்திற்கு தொடர் அழைப்பு பலன் அளிக்கவில்லை. உதவி மைய ஊழியர்கள் பதில் அளித்தாலும், அவர்களால் இந்துலேகாவின் தந்தைக்கு ஆக்சிஜன் படுக்கையை வழங்க முடியவில்லை." என்கிறார் இந்துலேகாவிற்கு உதவி செய்த கோவிட் தன்னார்வ படையை சேர்ந்த தன்னார்வலர் பாரதி ரமணன். ஒரு…

Singara Chennai. The capital of Tamil Nadu and a hub of automobile and electronic hardware industries. A city that is often labelled as India’s health capital with several multi speciality government and private hospitals. And yet, there remains a lot to be done to fulfill the expectations and aspirations of its citizens. The recent elections saw the DMK come to power in the state, clinching every seat in the city. In its earlier stints, the DMK government had been behind several projects that are key landmarks in the city today: the multi-level flyover at Kathipara, the largest cloverleaf flyover in Asia,…

Chennai has seen an unprecedented spike in COVID-19 cases in recent months. This has resulted in many individuals affected by the illness having to be hospitalised or placed in home isolation. During this time, individuals and families have found it difficult to access medicines, groceries and other essentials. Chennai's cyclists have come together in this hour of need to provide this important service, free of cost to those in need. The idea of Relief Riders originated from cyclists in Bengaluru and was later replicated by Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Jaipur cyclists. At the end of April, Felix John - Bicycle…

While it is now widely acknowledged that vaccines hold the key to our fight against COVID-19, the vaccination drive in India's cities appear to have hit a major roadblock and the daily coverage is far below what would have been a desirable target. The vaccination drive in Chennai began along with the rest of the country on January 16th. First in line were the healthcare and frontline workers, the drive then gradually expanded to cover those over 60 years of age and then those above the age of 45. Finally, from May 1st, it was declared that all those above…

Chennai-based freelance writer Divya Sainathan’s mother-in-law, R Gayathri, spent two weeks at the hospital for COVID treatment as she had 75% infection in both lungs. She needed 15 litres of oxygen per day at the time of her admission. It was brought down to 1 litre over two weeks. “At this point, we were asked to take her home, because the only service she needed at the hospital was oxygen. We were told to get an oxygen concentrator at home and monitor her SpO2 levels every two hours. If it fell below 92 for two hours, we were asked to…

Corporation's new strategy for COVID patients To curb the spread of COVID, the civic body has begun distributing basic medical kits for people undergoing RT-PCR tests. In the new approach that the corporation has taken, the test results would be communicated through the civic body medical teams who will make home visits to determine the course of treatment. The demand for oxygen beds has gone up in recent times in the city due to which the civic body has taken a decision to install oxygen concentrators at Covid Care Centres (CCC) to treat patients with mild symptoms. The number of…