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Wednesday, 21 October 2020 00:30 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Curfew was imposed in the Kuliyapitiya, Pannala, Giriulla, Narammala, and Dummalasuriya Police jurisdictions until further notice in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country following the identification of 186 patients yesterday.
Curfew is currently enforced in 19 Police jurisdictions in the Gampaha District in addition to the above areas. The measures were taken with the expansion of the Divulapitiya cluster, which has increased to 2,342 cases.
According to the Department of Government Information, 37 of yesterday’s cases were employees and associates of the garment manufacturing facility in Minuwangoda who were at quarantine centres at the time of testing positive and 143 are other contacts. Six overseas arrivals also tested positive for the virus yesterday.
The total number of confirmed cases in the island has thus risen to 5,811, of which 1,455 are Sri Lankan returnees from abroad, 950 are Navy personnel and their close contacts, 651 are persons connected to the Kandakadu Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre, and 95 are foreigners.
There are currently 2,341 persons receiving treatment and the active cases include 433 persons at the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital, 228 persons at the Kamburugamuwa Hospital, 165 persons at the Hambantota District General Hospital, and 163 persons at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID).
Hospitals are also monitoring 329 persons suspected of having COVID-19.
According to the Epidemiology Unit, 17 persons were discharged during the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. yesterday having recovered from COVID-19. This includes seven persons from the NIID, five persons from the Welikanda Base Hospital, two persons from the Hambantota District General Hospital, one person from the Colombo East Base Hospital, one from the Teldeniya Base Hospital, and one from the Galgamuwa Base Hospital.
The total COVID-19 recoveries in the country has thus risen to 3,457.
According to the National Operation Centre for the Prevention of the COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO), four persons who arrived from Japan were directed to quarantine centres yesterday. The NOCPCO added that 72 persons left quarantine centres yesterday, which brings the total number to leave centres having completed the process to 55,073.
Meanwhile, Health Services Acting Director General Dr. Sridharan said the number of people in quarantine centres is 7,295, of which 5,429 belong to the Divulapitiya cluster.
“I require the unconditional support of the public to curtail the spread of COVID-19 further, so please adhere to the DREAM concept,” he said, explaining that DREAM stands for distancing, respiratory etiquette, aseptic techniques, and wearing a mask.
He also requested the public to avoid the three Cs, which stands for crowding, close contact, and closed spaces.
Dr. Sridharan added that the country currently has 21 treatment centres and 24 PCR laboratories. A total of 398,196 PCR tests have been carried out thus far.
Regarding PCR testing capacity, Health Ministry Secretary Major Gen. Dr. Sanjeewa Munasinghe said testing was at 2,000 a day for screening purposes prior to the emergence of the Divulapitiya cluster. He explained that the daily capacity was expanded to 4,000 on the day the cluster emerged and has since increased to 9,000 daily PCR tests. He added that contract tracing is also being carried out in a satisfactory manner and that an ops room has been established to monitor the situation.
Dr. Munasinghe explained that the cases linked to the cluster that emerged on 4 October is a large number for a country like Sri Lanka. He added that several factors contributed to the volume of the cluster, saying: “The main reason is the nature of their place of work, as well as the nature of their boarding houses or hostels. In addition to this, there is also the nature of their behaviour. Regardless, as a Ministry, we were prepared beforehand to face any challenge in the future.”
Dr. Munasinghe added that the Ministry had identified hospitals suited for different volumes of patients prior to this
