Rising global COVID cases call for high local surveillance levels

By Randima Attygalle

In the wake of the overall increase in COVID-19 infections globally, although there is no imminent threat to Sri Lanka, the country will have to maintain high surveillance levels, warn health authorities. 

“Although we continue to report a very insignificant number of COVID cases and hope the situation will not change, it could be a matter of time before one of the new variants is identified in the country. Our testing has also been more restrictive and selective recently and hence the vigilance becomes doubly important,” Dr. Palitha Abeykoon, who until recently served as a Special Envoy for the WHO Director General on COVID-19 and currently a Member of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board of the WHO and the World Bank, told the Daily FT.

Dr. Abeykoon further said that the public should constantly remind themselves of the old established public health practices such as mask-wearing and hand washing that were adopted during the height of the pandemic, as COVID cases should not be abandoned.

Health authorities also urge those who are yet to receive the booster dose (third dose) to expedite it in the wake of XBB.1.5 variant, first detected in October 2022, now identified in 25 countries including the US and USA. 

“Six million people out of those above 18 years in Sri Lanka have not received their booster dose as yet. This is a large number and many of them would have their level of immunity to have waned in the interim period. Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Samitha Ginige says that 1.8 million Sinopharm vaccines are still in stock and these are available as booster doses,” Dr. Abeykoon said further.

The health specialist further remarked that it was unfortunate that the people did not avail themselves of the nearly three million doses of the Pfizer Vaccine as booster or primary doses and they had to be disposed of at a tremendous loss, due to the nearing of the expiry date.  

“Those who could have and should have taken the vaccine as a booster were reluctant to do so due to a number of reasons ranging from complacency to vaccine hesitancy and fears generated by misinformation.”

As of 10 January, COVID-19 Situation Report of the Epidemiology Unit records a total of 671,937 confirmed COVID cases of which 655,081 have recovered.  

A total of 16,820 COVID-deaths have been reported locally so far. “Although the situation in Sri Lanka appears to be under control at the moment, we cannot be over complacent,” reiterates the Consultant.

Last week the WHO confirmed XBB.1.5 to be the most transmissible COVID variant so far, although it did not appear to cause more serious illness.  It has evolved from the XBB variant of Omicron, itself a fusion of two different BA.2 variants – BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75.  More than 40% of COVID cases in the US are now caused by the XBB.1.5 variant and scientists have warned it could be the one to “watch out for” this year.

In case of China, WHO’s Emergencies Director Dr. Mike Ryan recently said that their COVID data is not giving an accurate picture of the situation in the country and possibly underrepresents the number of hospitalisations and deaths from the disease. 

He further said that WHO does not have complete data, and China’s COVID death definition is too narrow and that WHO is concerned about China’s numbers. “Further there are worries that the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year could bring a fresh COVID wave,” Dr. Abeykoon said.

Dr. Abeykoon further noted that all of the countries in the region have been alerted by the WHO to be vigilant regarding the variants and to carefully keep track of the developments and be prepared for any eventuality. 

“For instance, India is watching the situation very carefully and has already taken a number of measures to pre-empt and prevent another epidemic in the country. Being such a large and diverse country, it is not easy to implement uniform protocols throughout but India is prioritising its immediate preventive and preparedness actions.  

“Some countries now require a negative PCR Test 48 hours before arrival for travellers from certain countries. Whether or not we will encounter another pandemic soon or even in this century is unknown but, just in case, we will need to be prepared mentally, scientifically, and infrastructurally,” pointed out the senior health specialist.