Saturday May 18, 2024
Saturday May 18, 2024
Monday, 26 July 2021 03:22 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya
Health officials yesterday stated that 68 persons with the Delta variant have been detected in the island to date, but stressed that Sri Lanka is not facing the fourth COVID-19 wave.
“We do not see an end to the third wave. There was a drop in detections in the last few weeks but there has been a slight increase in the detections in the past few days,” Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena said, adding that the majority of COVID-19 fatalities in the past three weeks were unvaccinated persons.
Daily COVID-19 detections have remained above 1,500 since 20 July.
A total of 296,516 COVID-19 patients have been detected in the country to date, with 1,666 persons testing positive for the virus yesterday. According to the Health Promotion Bureau, 11,578 PCR tests were carried out yesterday. The patients detected include 1,656 persons from the New Year cluster.
In total, 192,857 persons from the New Year cluster have been detected, in addition to 82,785 persons from the Peliyagoda cluster, 7,766 persons from the Prisons cluster, and 3,059 persons from the Divulapitiya cluster. The cumulative patient count of the four clusters is 288,133.
In addition to this, 6,141 Sri Lankan overseas arrivals and 328 foreigners have also tested positive for COVID-19.
This takes into account the 1,737 COVID-19 patients detected on Saturday, when 1,687 persons from the New Year cluster, 30 Sri Lankan overseas returnees, and 20 persons from the Prisons cluster tested positive for COVID-19.
According to the Health Promotion Bureau, 13,463 PCR tests and 3,637 rapid antigen tests were carried out on Saturday. Of the detections, 330 persons were from Colombo, 236 persons were from Gampaha, and 156 persons were from Kalutara.
During the third wave, 35,509 persons from Colombo, 34,115 persons from Gampaha, and 24,937 persons from Kalutara have tested positive for COVID-19.
In total, 67,806 persons from Colombo, 52,649 persons from Gampaha, and 31,995 persons from Kalutara have tested positive for the virus. At present, 24,860 persons are under medical care and 1,237 persons suspected of having COVID-19 are under observation.
In addition to this, hospitals discharged 937 persons, raising the country’s COVID-19 recoveries to 267,602.
