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A Quick Reaction Team (QRT) of Army riders was deployed to conduct random temperature checks on people who arrived in Colombo yesterday – Pic by Ruwan Walpola
By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya
The Divulapitiya and Peliyagoda COVID-19 cluster yesterday exceeded 5,000 cases, with the identification of 457 new patients.
The new patients include 447 contacts of the Peliyagoda Fish Market and 10 persons at quarantine centres. According to the Department of Government -total is currently 5,396. This brings the total number of confirmed cases identified in the island to 8,870, of which over two thirds were identified in October. The total count includes 1,464 Sri Lankan returnees from abroad, 950 Navy personnel and their close contacts, 651 persons connected to the Kandakadu cluster and 97 foreigners.
According to the Epidemiology Unit, 4,808 persons are currently undergoing treatment at 34 hospitals, including 499 at the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital, 426 at the Gallela Treatment Centre, 357 at the Kandakadu Treatment Centre and 227 at the Kamburugamuwa Hospital.
Hospitals are also monitoring 445 persons suspected of having COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 recoveries yesterday surpassed 4,000, with 110 persons leaving hospitals having recovered from the virus. This includes 39 persons from the Rambukkana District Hospital, 24 from the Teldeniya Base Hospital, 14 from the Kamburugamuwa Hospital and 13 from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID). To date, 4,043 persons have recovered from COVID-19.
In addition to this, the Sri Lanka Police yesterday said 1,122 persons have been arrested and 163 vehicles taken into police custody since curfew was implemented on 4 October. During the 24-hour period ending at 6 a.m. yesterday, the Police took 46 persons and seven vehicles into custody over violations of curfew regulations.
A majority of the arrests were made in Kadawatha, Gampaha, Seeduwa and Katunayake, Police Spokesperson DIG Ajith Rohana said. He added that Police officers in civil attire had observed several people behaving contrary to safety guidelines during the time grocery stores and pharmacies were permitted to operate in the Gampaha District on Monday.
Quarantine curfew was yesterday enforced in the Homagama, Moratuwa, and Panadura Police jurisdictions until further notice. As such, 67 Police jurisdictions in the country are currently under lockdown.
This includes all 37 Police jurisdictions of the Gampaha District, 15 Police jurisdictions in Colombo city and five Police jurisdictions in Kuliyapitiya. Welikada, Wellampitiya, Gothatuwa and Mulleriyawa Police jurisdictions are also under curfew, along with Beruwala, Aluthgama and Payagala Police jurisdictions in the Kalutara District.
DIG Rohana went on to explain that certain banks were permitted to operate in curfew-imposed areas, especially in Colombo and that staff can travel to and from work by using their letter of service and official ID as a curfew permit. Employees of essential services and the Foreign Ministry can also use their official ID as a curfew permit.
The Government yesterday announced that grocery stores and pharmacies will be permitted to operate in curfew-imposed areas two days a week from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. As such, outlets can operate on Monday and Thursday in the Gampaha and Kalutara Districts and Tuesday and Friday in the Colombo and Kurunegala Districts.
“On Monday it was observed that persons from other areas were visiting the train station and bus terminal in Pettah and Fort by foot to travel to various destinations. However, buses and trains do not operate from the Fort Railway Station and the Pettah Bus Terminal, so we request persons to refrain from visiting these areas,” he said, adding that doing so could amount to a violation of quarantine regulations.
In terms of quarantine centres, the National Operation Centre for the Prevention of the COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) yesterday said 57,814 persons have left centres to date, including 88 persons who left centres yesterday.
Eleven persons who arrived from Qatar and six persons who arrived from Abu Dhabi yesterday have been directed to centres. The NOCPCO adds that 8,090 persons are currently undergoing quarantine at 75 centres managed by the Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force.
The NOCPCO on Monday said first contacts of COVID-19 patients will no longer be directed to centres and will be instead required to undergo self-quarantine. Explaining the reasoning behind the move, NOCPCO Head Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva said, “There are certain difficulties people face when directed to quarantine centres. Some have elderly parents, some have pets and there are practical and legitimate problems when they leave the house.”
He added that there are persons who cannot quarantine at home, for instance, those who only have access to common bathrooms. “If we feel like someone cannot be self-quarantined and that there is a threat to the surrounding area, such people will be taken to quarantine centres,” he went on to say.
Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry yesterday issued a statement on the ‘military response to COVID-19 pandemic’. The statement comes amidst growing public concern over increasing involvement of the military in COVID-19 containment measures.
In the statement, the Defence Ministry explains that the Divulapitiya and Peliyagoda Cluster has had a significant impact on the social-economic stability of the country in comparison to the clusters that emerged from the Welisara Navy Camp and the Kandakadu Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre.
The Ministry stated that the fourth outbreak appears to be “more aggressive in nature due to multiple reasons such as difficulty in tracing the infected ones, state of high virulence of the virus, spreading in a wider geographical area, the highest numerical value of affected persons in contrast with previous clusters.” This required the implementation of various pandemic response strategies by “the tri-forces and Sri Lanka Police along with the health sector”.
The Ministry went on to explain the measures taken in the country to contain the spread of the virus, like social distancing, isolation of villages, lockdowns, travel restrictions, management of patients and re-evaluation of existing strategies.
The Ministry also highlighted the efforts of the military, like sanitisation programs, quarantine centres and food distribution, which were carried out to counter an invincible threat. The Defence Ministry added that this was necessary to ensure the safety of the country's national security.
The statement went on to add that it was the responsibility of the public to unite for the betterment of the country, understand social responsibility with regard to adhering to guidelines and contribute to containment measures.
