Sunday Sep 08, 2024
Wednesday, 15 September 2021 02:19 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Quarantine curfew, which was implemented on 20 August and is expected to be lifted on 21 September, is sufficient to control the spread of COVID-19 in the country, Primary Health Care, Epidemics and COVID Disease Control State Minister Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle said yesterday.
She explained that a four-week lockdown is sufficient to control the spread of the virus and that an extension was unlikely. However, Dr. Fernandopulle added that the country will be reopened gradually.
According to the State Minister, quarantine curfew has led to a drop in detections and deaths. In addition to this, she said the vaccine drive has also been fast-tracked, especially with the mobile vaccination program.
“These two procedures, as well as the combined effort of the public, have resulted in a drop in detections as well as deaths,” she added.
Meanwhile, Co-Cabinet Spokesperson Dr. Ramesh Pathirana said an announcement will be made if any changes are made to the quarantine curfew currently in place. “The Government has so far announced that the ongoing quarantine curfew will continue until 21 September. If any changes are made, they will be announced in future,” he said, adding that certain relaxations have been made due to the financial difficulties faced by the public. “We can clearly see that during the quarantine curfew the number of patients as well as the number of deaths have gradually dropped. We are also nearing the end of an extremely successful vaccine drive,” he said, adding that due to this, a reduction in patients and fatalities can be expected by the end of the month.