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Tuesday, 9 November 2021 02:52 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya
Daily COVID-19 detections rose to 679 yesterday, with a slight rise in COVID-19 detections resulting in over 600 persons testing positive for the virus four days in a row.
According to Health Promotion Bureau Director Dr. Ranjith Batuwanthudawe, there is always a risk clusters emerging if the public is not careful.
“When presenting patient information, the Epidemiology Unit stated that the detections were scattered and a large number of patients were not being detected from one area,” he added.
Health officials continue their warnings of a fourth wave if the public does not adhere to health guidelines.
“Patients being detected in this manner is not a good sign. We cannot think that we are not at risk as we can never say what will happen. This has been our experience in the past,” Health Services Deputy Director Dr. Hemantha Herath said.
He added that if the need arises, health officials will have to recommend a lockdown.
The COVID-19 patients detected yesterday were from the New Year cluster and the country’s total COVID-19 detections has risen to 545,935. This includes 441,157 persons from the New Year cluster, 82,785 persons from Peliyagoda cluster, 9,052 persons from the Prisons cluster, and 3,059 persons from Divulapitiya cluster.
The country’s imported cases include 6,961 Sri Lankans and 328 foreigners.
This takes into account the 626 COVID-19 patients detected on Sunday, of which 625 were from the New Year cluster and one was a Sri Lankan returnee from overseas. The Health Promotion Bureau states that 4,338 PCR tests and 2,437 rapid antigen tests were performed on Sunday.
According to the Epidemiology Unit, 113,514 persons from Colombo, 96,249 persons from Gampaha, 52,197 persons from Kalutara, 33,775 persons from Galle, and 26,408 persons from Kurunegala have tested positive for COVID-19.
Western Province detections during the third wave of the pandemic include 81,217 persons from Colombo, 77,715 persons from Gampaha, and 45,139 persons from Kalutara. At present, 16,584 persons are under medical or home-based care and 1,741 persons suspected of having COVID-19 are under observation.
The Epidemiology Unit states that 312 persons were released from care yesterday, raising the country’s COVID-19 recoveries to 515,495.
