757 persons test positive for COVID-19

• 7,307 PCR tests conducted on Wednesday
• Total patient count rises to 569,928
• Includes 465,040 patients from New Year cluster
• 11,928 persons under medical or home-based care

By Shailendree 

Wickrama Adittiya

Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 case count rose to 569,928 with 757 persons testing positive for COVID-19 yesterday.

The COVID-19 patients detected were from the New Year cluster and 7,307 PCR tests were conducted yesterday.

The Health Promotion Bureau states that 6,849 PCR tests and 3,513 rapid antigen tests were conducted the previous day. The 748 COVID-19 patients detected on Tuesday were from the New Year cluster.

The country’s COVID-19 patient count includes 465,040 persons from the New Year cluster, 82,785 persons from the Peliyagoda cluster, 9,054 persons from the Prisons cluster, and 3,059 persons from the Divulapitiya cluster.

The country’s imported cases include 6,991 Sri Lankan overseas returnees and 328 foreigners.

The Epidemiology Unit states that 115,714 persons from Colombo, 98,979 persons from Gampaha, 53,226 persons from Kalutara, 35,905 persons from Galle, and 27,798 persons from Kurunegala have tested positive for COVID-19.

During the third wave of the pandemic, 83,417 patients from Colombo, 80,445 patients from Gampaha, and 46,168 patients from Kalutara were detected.

At present, 11,928 persons are under medical or home-based care and 2,917 persons suspected of having COVID-19 are under observation.

The Epidemiology Unit states that 356 persons were released from care yesterday, raising the country’s COVID-19 recoveries to 543,467.

According to Deputy Director of Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath, the Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases (ACCD) met yesterday to discuss COVID-19 control measures given concerns raised globally about the Omicron variant.

He said the current situation, recommendations issued by the World Health Organization, and other bodies and measures taken by other countries will be reviewed and the ACCD will provide recommendations that are best suited for Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, the Government yesterday announced that the Itukama COVID-19 Health and Social Security Fund will be used to provide educational scholarships to children below 20 years who lost their parents due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Presidential Secretariat, the balance of the fund is Rs. 1.8 billion.