• 398 persons test positive for virus on Sunday; 3,738 PCR tests conducted
• Total patient count rises to 583,649, includes 479,087 from New Year cluster
• 272,032 patients detected from Western Province
• 9,329 persons under medical or home-based care

By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya

COVID-19 detections over the weekend totalled 927, raising the country’s COVID-19 case count to 583,649.

The patients detected over the weekend include 398 patients identified yesterday. Of the detections, 396 were from the New Year cluster and two were overseas arrivals. The Health Promotion Bureau states that 3,738 PCR tests were conducted yesterday.

The previous day, 5,886 PCR tests and 2,824 rapid antigen tests were conducted. The COVID-19 patients detected on Saturday include 526 persons from the New Year cluster, two persons from the Prisons cluster and one Sri Lankan overseas arrival.

The Epidemiology Unit states that 479,087 persons from the New Year cluster, 82,785 persons from the Peliyagoda cluster, 9,062 persons from the Prisons cluster, and 3,059 persons from the Divulapitiya cluster have been detected.

The country’s imported cases include 7,014 Sri Lankans and 328 foreigners.

Epidemiology Unit data shows 117,191 detections from Colombo, 101,066 detections from Gampaha, 53,775 detections from Kalutara, 37,714 detections from Galle, and 28,542 detections from Kurunegala.

During the third wave of the pandemic, 84,894 persons from Colombo, 82,532 persons from Gampaha, and 46,717 persons from Kalutara tested positive for COVID-19.

At present, 9,329 persons are under medical or home-based care and 1,545 persons suspected of having COVID-19 are under observation.

The Epidemiology Unit states that 308 persons were released from care yesterday, raising the country’s COVID-19 recoveries to 559,436.

• 37,196 persons vaccinated against COVID-19

• 13 COVID-19 fatalities confirmed