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Saturday, 23 January 2021 00:33 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya
The triple COVID-19 clusters that emerged from Divulapitiya, Peliyagoda, and the prisons yesterday increased to 52,548 patients with the detected of 787 COVID-19-positive persons.
According to the Department of Government Information, 784 of yesterday’s patients were associates of the Peliyagoda COVID-19 cluster.
The country’s total COVID-19 patient count has increased to 56,863, which includes 1,815 Sri Lankan returnees from abroad, 950 Navy personnel and their contacts, 651 persons linked to the Kandakadu cluster, and 145 foreigners.
According to the Epidemiology Unit, the district distribution of COVID-19 patients records 21,377 patients from Colombo, 11,617 patients from Gampaha, 3,815 patients from Kalutara, 2,090 patients from Kandy, 1,098 patients from Galle, and 1,047 patients from Ratnapura.
This includes the 887 COVID-19 patients detected on Thursday, of which 337 were from Colombo, 136 were from Gampaha, 71 were from Kalutara, 51 were from Matale, and 49 were from Kandy. At least one patient from every district was detected on Thursday.
The Epidemiology Unit adds that 7,968 persons are currently under medical care at various treatment centres, including 677 persons at the Punani Treatment Centre, 442 persons at the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital, and 431 persons at the Bingiriya Treatment Centre.
Hospitals are also monitoring 793 persons suspected of having COVID-19.
“Treatment centres for COVID-19 patients have increased to 79 by now. There are 13,012 beds prepared at these centres and 9,399 beds are currently in use. Of the ICU beds, 26 are in use and 120 are ready for use if required,” Deputy Director General of Public Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath yesterday said.
He went on to say that an increase in COVID-19 patients can be seen but that health authorities expected this given the increased movement seen during the holiday season amidst an absence of movement restrictions. Due to this, he said, health authorities rejected claims that the situation was out of control.
He stressed that the public could control the situation by adhering to safety guidelines and avoiding any unnecessary travel.
Regarding COVID-19 patients detected from the Health Ministry, Dr. Hemantha Herath said eight patients from one unit and four patients from other units have been detected to date. A total of 12 COVID-19 patients have thus been identified from the Health Ministry premises.
However, first contacts of these persons have been directed for quarantine and will be subjected to testing in the coming days.
According to the Health Promotion Bureau, 1,557,630 PCR tests have been carried out to date, including 19,285 tests on Thursday. This is the highest number of PCR tests performed in a day and was also the day with the highest number of patients detected.
Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 recoveries in the island yesterday rose to 48,617. Persons discharged yesterday include 69 from the Punani Treatment Centre, 60 persons from the Bingiriya Treatment Centre, and 36 persons from the Polgolla Treatment Centre.
