1,965 persons test positive for COVID-19 over the weekend

• 977 COVID-19 patients detected yesterday
• Daily detections drop below 1,000 during the weekend
• Total COVID-19 case count rises to 645,037
• 20,128 persons currently under medical or home-based care

By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya

Weekend COVID-19 detections totalled 1,965 with daily detections dropping below 1,000 on both Saturday and yesterday.

Daily COVID-19 detections have remained above 1,000 since 30 January, when 1,056 persons tested positive for COVID-19.

The Epidemiology Unit states that 977 COVID-19 patients were detected yesterday. All patients were from the New Year cluster.

The previous day, 986 persons from the New Year cluster and two Sri Lankan returnees from overseas tested positive for COVID-19. The Health Promotion Bureau states that 7,006 PCR tests and 3,478 rapid antigen tests were conducted on Saturday.

A total of 645,037 COVID-19 patients have been detected in Sri Lanka to date. This includes 539,589 persons from the New Year cluster, 82,785 persons from the Peliyagoda cluster, 9,154 persons from the Prisons cluster and 3,059 persons from the Divulapitiya cluster.

The country’s imported cases include 7,231 Sri Lankan returnees from overseas and 328 foreigners.

According to the Epidemiology Unit, 133,744 persons from Colombo, 111,960 persons from Gampaha, 57,052 persons from Kalutara, 42,882 persons from Galle, and 30,674 persons from Kurunegala have tested positive for COVID-19.

COVID-19 detections during the third wave of the pandemic include 101,447 persons from Colombo, 93,426 persons from Gampaha, and 49,994 persons from Kalutara.

There are currently 20,128 persons under medical or home-based care along with 1,071 persons suspected of having COVID-19 who are under observation.

Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 recoveries rose to 608,719 with 244 persons discharged from treatment centres yesterday.