Chennai, Apr 13 (IANS): With the Covid cases surging ahead, the Greater Chennai Corporation will set up 13 new Covid care centres across the city with 11,775 beds. The corporation also plans to create more awareness on sanitization, masks and social distancing among the public. The corporation is already levying a fine of Rs 200 if people are caught without masks.

At present 50 out of the 5,135 beds at Athipattu Covid care centre are occupied and there are another 50 patients admitted at the Victoria Students hostel in Presidency College, Chennai.

The Greater Chennai Corporation has 52 colleges, 24 schools, 74 Government aided and private schools. The corporation has already tied up with 60 hotels for paid accommodation.

However, after the announcement of reopening, colleges were returned back to the management but the Athipattu, KR Puram and Guindy trade centres were retained. After the daily cases went below 100, KR Park centre was closed and is not being used since then.

The corporation is planning to get ready Velammal Engineering college, Dr Ambedkar Government Arts College, Bharathi Womens College, IIT Madras, Anna University, NSTI Guindy, Jerusalem Engineering College, Guru Nanak College, University of Madras, and Mohammed Sahtak Nursing College. These are apart from the TNHB centre, Athipattu and the Presidency College hostel as Covid care centres.

Megnath Reddy, Deputy Commissioner, Greater Chennai Corporation while speaking to IANS said, "During the last year when more than 2,000 daily cases were reported, the number of people getting admitted in hospitals did not cross 5,000 mark. We have already proposed 11,775 beds in 13 centres and this will be scaled up to 20,000 in the coming weeks. Hospitals will tie up with centres and send the asymptomatic patients to these centres."