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Saturday, 4 April 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Eight cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed yesterday, with health officials saying they would expand testing to limit virus spread.
Addressing media at the National Operation Centre for the Prevention of COVID-19 (NOCPC), Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Army Commander and NOCPC Head Lt. Gen. Shavindra Silva, and DIG Ajith Rohana gave an update on the situation.
“We will expand testing in the future to assess the spread of the virus,” Dr. Jasinghe said, explaining that health authorities had begun to test the communities from which the patients originated and those who were isolated in specialised hospitals under suspicion of infection.
The move comes in the backdrop of the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) urging the Government to expand testing for the virus. Wider testing of 225 people on Thursday had also diagnosed five people who had come into close contact with a patient who was diagnosed earlier.
Sri Lanka has detected 156 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of yesterday, with 24 patients released after treatment. Four deaths due to COVID-19 have been reported up to date.
Health authorities moved to take test samples from a number of persons who had been in contact with the infected patients in the Akurana and Beruwala areas. Both villages are isolated under public health regulations.
Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) and medical staff who attempted to take samples for the COVID-19 test were met with resistance from some in Beruwala. However, community leaders and PHIs were able to convince the youth to comply.
Health authorities renewed calls yesterday for persons who have symptoms not to hide it from medical practitioners as 24 doctors and medical staff from Kalubowila Hospital had to be moved into quarantine as a precautionary measure after being exposed to a COVID-19 patient this week.
The incident brings the total medical staff who have been moved into quarantine to 49. Previously, 25 medical staff from Negombo Hospital were also moved into quarantine due to exposure.
Addressing the media, Lt. Gen. Silva said that 288 persons who completed the mandatory 14 days in quarantine at a number of centres were released after completing a medical check-up. A total of 1,741 persons are still in 40 quarantine centres run by the military. The armed forces also assisted in transporting pensioners to banks and back to collect their pensions for the second day yesterday.
Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi announced that the Government had allocated Rs. 7,621 million to Samurdhi banks under a plan to issue a Rs. 10,000 interest-free loan to two million Samurdhi beneficiaries island-wide. The loan is meant to soften the impact of the current situation on low income families, she explained.
The three suspects who were injured when the Police opened fire at a vehicle violating curfew regulations are known to the Police and were under the influence of narcotics, DIG Ajith Rohana told the media. The four are to appear before a magistrate, he said.
The Police will also launch a special security plan to monitor a number of groups who have been seen gathering in several high-rise buildings in Colombo and the suburbs. “We will take stern action against those who behave in violation of the public health regulations,” he warned.
According to DIG Rohana, employees of telecommunication service providers and veterinarians can use their company identity cards to travel during curfew from tomorrow.
