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Thursday Dec 12, 2024
Tuesday, 7 April 2020 02:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Responding to a crescendo of appeals, the Government yesterday said it was planning to expand laboratory testing for the COVID-19 virus as the number of confirmed cases reached 178 yesterday.
Of the 178 confirmed cases, 38 patients have been released after recovering from the virus and 135 active cases remain. Health authorities are monitoring 273 suspected cases that have been hospitalised. Only two new cases were recorded yesterday.
Addressing the media at the National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 (NOCPC), Health Services Director General Dr. Anil Jasinghe said that health authorities have tripled the number being tested yesterday from the number tested last week. “We have sought advice from Sri Lankan and international experts and plan to expand laboratory testing in the coming days,” he explained.
The move comes in the backdrop of a person who had completed quarantine, being tested positive for COVID-19 after 24 days. The finding prompted the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) to renew their calls to expand testing and question whether the Government was underutilising the number of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machines available to carry out testing.
According to Medical Research Institute (MRI) Director Dr. Jayaruwan Bandara, the institute has eight PCR machines but have only used two for testing so far due to the low number of samples sent for testing. Bandara pointed out that the PCR test is the most accurate means of testing for the COVID-19. According to hospital sources, there are close to 50 PCR machines available to the Health Ministry. Bandara pointed out that the largest number of tests carried out, which was 152, was done yesterday.
Commenting on the use of rapid test kits, Dr. Jasinghe said that the Health Ministry has not approved them yet due to concerns regarding the quality of the test kits received so far. However, the Ministry plans to validate rapid test kits which meet the necessary standards he said. “The rapid test kits we have received are not suitable to use,” he noted.
Dr. Jasinghe stressed the need for patients to be truthful about their symptoms, the persons they have been in contact with and where they have been, when speaking to health professionals. He renewed calls for greater citizen responsibility in the wake of 14 doctors and specialist medical staff at the Apeksha Cancer Hospital being forced to move to quarantine as a precautionary measure, after a patient with COVID-19 visited the hospital and concealed his symptoms from hospital staff.
According to Army Commander and NOCPC Head Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva, 213 persons who completed the mandatory 14-day quarantine at military run centres were released yesterday after a medical check-up. Those released have been notified to remain in quarantine at home for a further two weeks. A total of 3,386 persons have left the quarantine centres up to date. According to Lt. Gen. Silva, 1,287 remain in 40 quarantine centres run by the armed forces.
A group of indigenous medical experts had met yesterday at the NOCPC to discuss how indigenous medicine could contribute to mitigating the COVID-19 virus, Silva said.
A suspected COVID-19 patient from Aranayaka, Gampaha had tested negative to the virus, prompting Police to remove travel restrictions enforced on the village explained DIG Ajith Rohana. The Police has also produced before a Colombo Magistrate a resident of Gampaha who had spread fake news about COVID-19 deaths on social media. DIG Rohana urged the public to act responsibly and to adhere to public health regulations.
