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Sunday Dec 15, 2024
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Shailendree
Wickrama Adittiya
The country’s total COVID-19 detections exceeded 147,000 with the detection of 2,518 COVID-19 positive persons yesterday.
The 2,518 patients were linked to the New Year cluster and the Department of Government Information states that 141,374 patients have been detected from the Divulapitiya, Peliyagoda, Prisons and New Year clusters to date.
A total of 147,720 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in the country.
According to the Epidemiology Unit, the country’s local cases include 82,785 persons linked to the Peliyagoda cluster, 47,775 persons linked to the New Year cluster, 5,277 persons linked to the Prisons cluster, and 3,059 persons linked to the Divulapitiya cluster.
The imported cases consist of 4,077 Sri Lankan returnees from abroad and 315 foreigners.
The patient count includes the patients detected on Monday, of which 2,349 were linked to the New Year cluster, 84 were linked to the Prisons cluster and 23 were Sri Lankan returnees from abroad. According to the Health Promotion Bureau, 25,590 PCR tests were performed in the island on Monday.
A total of 2,456 persons tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, including 677 persons from Gampaha, 320 persons from Colombo, 315 persons from Kalutara, 259 persons from Galle, and 255 persons from Mullativ.
The Epidemiology Unit states that 41,589 persons from Colombo, 27,050 persons from Gampaha, 12,365 persons from Kalutara, 7,077 persons from Kurunegala, and 6,042 persons from Kandy have tested positive for COVID-19 to date.
At present, 25,560 persons are under medical care, including 573 persons at the Punani Treatment Centre, 493 persons at the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital, and 479 persons at the Bingiriya Treatment Centre. Hospitals also have 1,526 persons suspected of having COVID-19 under observation.
A total of 121,145 persons have recovered from COVID-19 to date, including 1,516 persons discharged from hospital yesterday. This includes 116 persons from the Punani Treatment Centre, 92 persons from the Kandakadu Treatment Centre, and 85 persons from the Bingiriya Treatment Centre.
Health authorities yesterday warned of COVID-19 detections exceeding a million in 100 days as per observations made on COVID-19 transmission.
“If the virus is transmitted to another person within a period of five to six days, the number of detections will double every five days. If this happens, by 100 days, the detections multiply by 20, and the patient detections can exceed a million,” Health Ministry’s Deputy Director General of Education, Training and Research and Head of the Disaster Preparedness and Response Division Dr. Hemantha Herath said. Meanwhile, the Cabinet of Ministers yesterday decided to simplify the procurement process in order to ensure the supply of vaccines, medical equipment, and other essential items for the health sector takes place without delay.
A proposal was made by Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to issue new guidelines for the COVID-19 procurement process and the Cabinet approved the proposal.
In addition to this, Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi yesterday stated that measures will be taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in prisons, especially taking into consideration contributing factors like a lack of space.
The comments were made in response to a question by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Premalal Jayasekara in Parliament yesterday.
According to Police Spokesperson DIG Ajith Rohana 141 persons were arrested on Monday for failing to comply with the NIC last digit system, which permits persons to travel depending on the last digit of their NIC.
A total of 11,408 persons were checked on Monday to ensure they are following the system.
“In the past 24 hours, 223 persons were arrested for violating quarantine regulations. A total of 10,073 arrests have been made thus far,” DIG Ajith Rohana added.
He went on to say that several operations were carried out in the Western Province on Monday, especially in relation to mobile vendors and at entry and exit points from the Western province.
According to the Police Spokesperson, 2,049 vehicles and 3,882 persons were checked at exit points from the Western Province.
