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Friday, 28 May 2021 00:19 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya
The country’s COVID-19 detections rose to 174,861 yesterday with the detection of 2,584 COVID-19 positive persons.
The patients detected yesterday include 2,572 persons linked to the New Year cluster and the Divulapitiya, Peliyagoda, Prisons and New Year clusters have expanded to 168,368.
According to the Epidemiology Unit, the total patient count of the clusters include 82,785 persons linked to the Peliyagoda cluster, 74,169 persons linked to the New Year cluster, 5,783 persons linked to the Prisons cluster, and 3,059 persons linked to the Divulapitiya cluster.
The country’s total patient count also includes 4,249 Sri Lankan returnees from abroad and 318 foreigners.
The Director General of Health Services also confirmed 24 COVID related deaths yesterday, which increased the total number of deaths in the island to 1,325.
The district distribution of COVID-19 detections shows 46,910 from Colombo, 31,978 from Gampaha, 15,155 from Kalutara, 9,007 from Kurunegala, and 6,877 from Kandy.
This takes into account the 2,377 COVID-19 patients detected on Wednesday, of which 2,290 were from the New Year cluster, 52 were Sri Lankan returnees from abroad, and 35 were from the Prisons cluster.
Of the patients detected on Wednesday, 573 were from Colombo, 530 were from Gampaha, and 257 were from Kandy. On Wednesday, 18,156 PCR tests were performed.
The drop in COVID-19 detections in the country has been linked to the decrease in PCR tests performed daily.
“The reason for this is that there was a certain drop in the PCR tests carried out by the private sector. However, it is once again rising,” Health Ministry Spokesperson Dr. Hemantha Herath said.
Private sector testing was affected by guidelines issued by the Director General of Health Services last week, which stated that testing could only be carried out as per the recommendation of a medical specialist or officer. While Dr. Herath stated that testing has been maintained above 25,000 tests a day, Health Promotion Bureau data shows the daily testing has remained below 25,000 since 22 May.
At present, 29,774 persons are under medical care, including 692 persons at the Bingiriya Treatment Centre, 498 persons at the Dambadeniya Treatment Centre, and 477 persons at the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital.
There are 1,459 persons suspected of having COVID-19 currently under observation at various hospitals.
The Epidemiology Unit states that 1,411 persons were discharged from hospitals yesterday, having recovered from the virus. This includes 81 persons from the Kopai Treatment Centre, 64 persons from the Murikandi ICC, and 60 persons from the Pasdunrata ICC.
A total of 143,789 persons have recovered from the virus to date.
