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TN ISM dept to reopen 32 Siddha Covid Care Centres in the wake of rise in positive cases again
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Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
April 16 , 2021
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With Covid-19 cases beginning to rise again in all parts of Tamil Nadu after the recent Assembly election, the department of Indian System of Medicines (ISM) has decided to reopen the 32 Siddha Covid Care Centres which were closed nearly four months ago following a decrease in the infection in last December.
According to sources, it is the decision of the respective district collectors whether to open the Covid centre or not. However, it is learnt that all the 39 districts will have Siddha Covid Care Centres very soon as they are concentrating in immunity enhancement. Last year there were 32 centres.
The coronavirus infections have now started rising more than what were in last year and the number of infected cases crosses six thousand every day. Following this, the department of ISM has decided to revive the operations of the closed Siddha Covid Care Centres which will provide Ayush medications for strengthening the immunity in people.
Previously these 32 centres were treating people with asymptomatic and mild symptoms and they were administered several classical Siddha drugs which were proven to be safe and efficacious in preventing viral infection. The popular kabhasura kudineer and nilavembu kudineer were also in the primary list. All those medicines will be made available in these centres through Tampcol, sources from ISM department informed Pharmabiz.
A senior officer in the ISM department said the covid centre at Salem has already been reopened. It is a 100-bed hospital with all facilities. The Covid centres are controlled by the district Siddha medical officers. All the other centres will be opened in another a few days time.
Although the centres are being opened as part of preventive measures, government prefers to go with the vaccination drive and administration of allopathic medicines. Siddha Covid Care Centres will not treat any positive cases.
The Siddha and certain Ayurveda medicines which are famous for preventing viral diseases are being stocked in the centres in a war-footing effort now. Government plans to start functioning of the centres without any delay. Each centre is set up as a special wing in every district Siddha hospital.
Nilavembu kudineer, kabasura kudineer, nochi kudineer, thalisathy vadagam, brahmananda bhairavam, amakkurai choornam, adathodai manapakku, amakkura choornam mathirai and nellikai lehyam are the major Ayush medicines given to the patients in a Covid centre.
Welcoming the decision of the government in reviving the Siddha Covid Care Centres, Dr T Thirunarayanan, secretary of the Centre for Traditional Medicines and Research (CTMR), Chennai, said if the centres are to function properly, government should allocate sufficient funds to the ISM department for distributing to each centre for providing food, PPE kits for doctors and other staff, masks and sanitizers for patients and for engaging separate house-keeping staff. He said without fund, the centres will not succeed in their operations.
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