• 29 COVID-19 patients detected yesterday
• Total case count rises to 663,160
• 4,079 persons currently receiving treatment
• Five persons released from care 

By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya

Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 detections over the weekend totalled 69, with daily detections dropping below 50 on both Saturday and yesterday.

29 COVID-19 patients were detected yesterday, while 40 COVID-19 patients were detected the previous day. The Health Promotion Bureau states that 2,140 PCR tests and 736 rapid antigen tests were conducted on Saturday.

Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 case count currently stands at 663,160. This includes 483,090 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.

In addition to this, 75,559 COVID-19 patients have been detected since 1 January.

The country’s imported cases include 7,242 Sri Lankan returnees from overseas and 328 foreigners. According to the Epidemiology Unit, 139,147 patients from Colombo, 114,387 patients from Gampaha, 58,235 patients from Kalutara, 45,618 patients from Galle, and 31,492 patients from Kurunegala have been detected.

During the third wave of the pandemic, 106,850 persons from Colombo, 95,853 persons from Gampaha, and 51,177 persons from Kalutara tested positive for COVID-19.

At present, 4,079 persons are receiving medical or home-based care, while 147 persons suspected of having COVID-19 are under observation.

Five persons were discharged from treatment centres yesterday, raising the country’s COVID-19 recoveries to 642,579. 

COVID-19 death toll remains at 16,502 with zero fatalities confirmed