• Total COVID-19 detections rise to 381,812, includes 275,152 persons from New Year cluster
• Rise in COVID-19 detections can be expected for next 2-3 weeks: Dr. Hemantha Herath
• Adds that COVID-19 fatalities will remain same even if detections drops
• Over 54,000 COVID-19 patients under medical or home-based care

By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya

Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 detections rose to 381,812 with 3,839 persons testing positive for the virus yesterday and over 4,000 delayed cases being added to the total.

According to the Epidemiology Unit, 4,808 cases reported in the last four days were added to the total detections after verification.

The COVID-19 patients detected yesterday include 3,835 persons from the New Year cluster and four overseas arrivals.

This is the highest number of COVID-19 patients detected in a day.

According to Deputy Director-General of Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath, an increase in COVID-19 detections can be expected for the next two to three weeks.

“The COVID-19 deaths occurring now are usually of persons who were hospitalised two to three weeks ago, so even if the patient count drops in some way, the number of deaths may remain the same,” he added.

The Epidemiology Unit states that 275,152 persons from the New Year cluster, 82,785 persons from the Peliyagoda cluster, 8,007 persons from the Prisons cluster, and 3,059 persons from the Divulapitiya cluster have tested positive for COVID-19.

In addition to this, the total COVID-19 detections include 6,728 Sri Lankan overseas arrivals and 328 foreigners.

This takes into account the 3,806 COVID-19 patients detected on Thursday. Of this, 3,772 were from the New Year cluster, 21 were from the Prisons cluster, and 13 were Sri Lankan overseas arrivals.

The district distribution of COVID-19 patients shows 86,972 persons from Colombo, 69,469 persons from Gampaha, 40,109 persons from Kalutara, 20,219 persons from Galle, and 18,064 persons from Kurunegala. During the third wave of the pandemic, 54,675 persons from Colombo, 50,935 persons from Gampaha, and 33,051 persons from Kalutara tested positive for COVID-19. The addition of delayed cases as well as yesterday’s COVID-19 detections has increased the number of persons currently under medical or home-based care to 50,373. In addition to this, 3,597 persons suspected of having COVID-19 are under observation.

According to the Epidemiology Unit, 2,096 persons left hospitals yesterday, raising the country’s COVID-19 recoveries to 320,810.

213,737 persons vaccinated against COVID-19 on Thursday

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