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Thursday Nov 28, 2024
Friday, 5 June 2020 02:21 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka's COVID-19 recovery rate dipped below the international recovery rate for the first time yesterday, as 48 new patients tested positive for the virus. The change comes in the backdrop of the Government deciding to facilitate repatriation of all Sri Lankans wanting to return home.
According to the Health Promotion Bureau, Sri Lanka recorded a COVID-19 recovery rate of 46.7% in comparison to a 48.33% average global recovery rate.
Sri Lanka had been recording a high recovery rate in comparison since the first local case was detected in March.
The drop in recovery rate comes as new patient numbers surged from the Navy cluster and those repatriated recently.
According to the Government Information department, of the 48 new patients reported yesterday, 42 were Navy personnel and those who were closely associated with them, 3 returnees from India, 2 returnees from Bangladesh, and 1 returnee from Dubai also tested positive. All 48 patients tested positive while in quarantine, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 1797. A total of 66 patients were also reported on Wednesday after 2086 PCR tests for COVID-19 had been carried out by health authorities.
According to the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health, 3 patients recovered yesterday, pushing the total to 839. A total of 947 patients remain under care in 11 specialist hospitals. The highest number of patients, 153 are being treated at National Institute of Infectious Disease (NIID), while the Navy Hospital in Welisara treats 121, 108 at the District General Hospital Hambantota and 100 at the Base Hospital in Welikanda.
As of last evening, as many as 594 repatriated Sri Lankans have tested positive for COVID-19. A total of 420 out of 830 infected sailors have been moved into post-treatment quarantine after recovering from the virus. They are subjected to PCR tests prior to being moved to quarantine. A total of 410 sailors remain in care.
A total of 17 persons who completed the quarantine program were discharged from the Wadduwa centre yesterday, after being subjected to PCR tests, the National Operations Centre for the Prevention of COVID-19 (NOCPOC) said. A total of 11,686 persons have returned home after completing quarantine at centres managed by the military. A total of 5,240 remain in 45 quarantine centres as of yesterday.
