Chennai residents purchasing paracetamol and antibiotics to be tracked

Move aims to curb self-treatment of COVID-19 at home; non-compliant pharmacies will be penalised

Following cases of “self-treatment” at home for COVID-19, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has directed all pharmacies in the city to send daily details of residents who purchase paracetamol and antibiotics. The civic agency is taking measures to facilitate the isolation of such patients and admit them in COVID-19 Care Centres, if required. According to a Corporation official, pharmacies that fail to send details will be penalised. The phone number and name of the residents should be e-mailed to the civic agency by the pharmacy on the day of purchase of the medicine. Corporation officials will call such residents over the phone, fix appointments and send teams for testing at their doorsteps. Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi said the instructions had been issued to treat potential COVID-19 patients at an early stage. Currently, as many as 17,226 COVID-19 patients are in home quarantine in the 15 zones of the city. While 1,114 beds in COVID-19 Care Centres are occupied, 7,453 beds are vacant.