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Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Thursday, 23 April 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Twenty persons tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 330, as the Government stepped up testing to new highs and issued fresh guidelines.
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Dr. Anil Jasinghe |
Of those who tested positive yesterday, 11 were residents of Beruwala who were under observation at a quarantine centre, one was receiving treatment at the Polonnaruwa General Hospital, and another was a resident of Suduwella, Ja-Ela who was under observation at the Oluvil quarantine centre. Furthermore, 12 villages in Lankapura Division in the Polonnaruwa District were declared isolated areas after discovering a COVID-19 patient.
This brings the total active cases to 218. The total number of recoveries has risen to 105, and the country’s recovery rate is 31.18% according to the Health Promotion Bureau.
According to Health Services Director General Dr. Anil Jasinghe, over 500 persons were tested for COVID-19 at the Peliyagoda fish market yesterday, in what was the largest PCR sample collected from a single location within the span of a few hours in Sri Lanka.
A total of 530 persons were subjected to the PCR test, after a vendor who visited the fish market tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. In addition to this, 62 samples were collected on Tuesday from a private medical centre in Pannipitiya, which was also visited by a COVID-19 patient and has been temporarily shut down. However, none of the 62 samples tested positive for COVID-19.
Further sampling was also conducted in the Bandaranayake Mawatha estates yesterday after a large number of people tested positive in the area. Over 1,000 residents in the area were sent to quarantine centres on Tuesday, and Dr. Anil Jasinghe said all COVID-19 patients identified at the Punani and other quarantine centres were taken to the Kattankudy Base Hospital, which is the latest treatment facility established in Sri Lanka.
Over 30 patients are currently receiving treatment at the hospital.
In addition to this, the students and Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy, and Sri Lanka Air Force officers flown down from Pakistan on Tuesday evening were taken to quarantine centres soon after landing in the country.
National Operations Centre for the Prevention of COVID-19 (NOCPOC) Head and Army Commander Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva said the Sri Lanka Army and Sri Lanka Air Force officers will be quarantined by the Sri Lanka Army, while Sri Lanka Navy officers will be quarantined by the Sri Lanka Navy itself. The students who returned will be quarantined by the Sri Lanka Army.
“In the 26 quarantine centres managed by the Sri Lanka Army, 2,690 persons are yet to complete the quarantine process. A total of 4,348 have left the centres having completed quarantine,” he added.
Emphasis was also placed on the need to follow safety guidelines issued by the health sector in areas where curfew has been relaxed.
Health and Indigenous Medical Services Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said, “Curfew was lifted in several districts and we saw the public in these areas behaving like COVID-19 had been eradicated in the country. In some instances, three or four passengers were travelling in three-wheelers, and we saw people scrambling without maintaining social distancing.”
She added that they were thus requesting the public to adhere to the safety guidelines provided by the health sector, as curfew has been relaxed not because COVID-19 no longer poses a threat to the country, but in order to carry out certain measures for the benefit of the public and the country.
These measures include the distribution by the Sri Lanka Army, on Tuesday and Wednesday, of 150,000 kg vegetables received from the Dambulla Dedicated Economic Centre to low-income families in the districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, and Puttalam.
The Government also provided an allowance of Rs. 5,000 to 1.9 million families that have lost their daily income due to COVID-19 containment measures from 20 to 22 April. The Samurdhi program, which provided beneficiaries with an allowance of Rs. 5,000, benefited 2.5 million families, Wanniarachchi said.
While several measures are being carried out to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, it was decided yesterday that barbershops and salons as well as food stalls near hospitals will remain closed until future notice.
According to Dr. Jasinghe, small restaurants that do not comply with hygiene standards will also be ordered to close. In addition to this, a decision has been made to allow a maximum of two passengers to travel in a three-wheeler at a time.
He added that as several patients were identified within the Colombo city limits, it had been decided that PCR tests would be conducted in random in the various estates in Colombo. In addition to this, those with jobs at the municipal council will be tested at their place of work.
The Sri Lanka Police has also introduced several guidelines for door-to-door vendors and Police Spokesman SP Jaliya Senarathne said, “The objective of these guidelines is to prevent the spread of COVID-19 when distributing food to the public. As such, it is advised that the public as well as vendors adhere to these guidelines. Failure to do so may result in the invalidation of the vendor’s curfew pass.”
The guidelines for vendors include being dressed in clean clothes and footwear that covers the feet, wearing face masks and gloves when conducting trade activity, and using sanitiser products. If a vendor is selling bakery products or cooked food, they are to use necessary equipment when handling the food instead of touching the food with their bare hands.
Goods must be packaged in paper or other materials when being sold, and vendors must not allow customers to touch food or other items when buying them. Vendors must not touch goods and covers directly after handling cash and must ensure customers maintain a one metre distance from each other when gathering near the vendor.
