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Wednesday, 13 May 2020 02:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Asiri Fernando
Twenty more persons tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, as the Police Department urged the public to strictly follow health regulations to prevent the spread of the virus.
Director of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe said 9 out of the 20 who tested positive yesterday were Navy personnel. With yesterday’s 20 new COVID-19 patients, the total number of confirmed cases rose to 889. One person from the Kandakadu quarantine centre also tested positive.
According to the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health, 23 COVID-19 patients recovered and were discharged from hospitals yesterday. A total of 366 have recovered as of last evening, while 514 infected patients remain under treatment in seven specialised hospitals, with the highest number (197) being treated at the Navy Hospital in Welisara.
A total of 117 persons suspected to be infected with COVID-19 are being monitored in hospitals countrywide. Nine persons succumbed to the virus.
According to the National Operations Centre for the Prevention of COVID-19 (NOCPOC), 7,515 persons have completed quarantine in military-run centres and returned home up to date. In addition, 3,701 persons remain in quarantine in 37 centres island-wide.
The Police Department yesterday held a special press conference, urging the public to follow COVID-19 related health regulations to prevent the spread of the virus.
DIG Ajith Rohana requested the public not to let the sacrifices made by all go to waste by aiding in the spread of the virus. “We cannot let another cluster appear,” he stressed.
He said that some Police officers work 16 hour shifts manning checkpoints and patrolling the streets, enforcing the public health regulations, and appealed to the public to follow the regulations to enable the country to return to some normalcy.
The Police have taken legal action against 9,783 persons who were arrested for curfew violations, SP Ruwan Gunasekara added.
Commenting on a recent judgment by the Chief Magistrate of Gampaha, SP Gunasekara said that opinions expressed by some that the curfew imposed under the quarantine regulations was illegal and that curfew should have been imposed under the Public Security Ordinance was addressed by the judgment.
“The Gampaha Chief Magistrate Manjula Karunarathna delivered an historic verdict. The Court has decided that a curfew can only be imposed under the Public Security Ordinance if there is public unrest or break in peace due to military, political, ethnic, social or religious reasons,” SP Gunasekara said. The Court has decreed that imposing curfew under Public Security Ordinance is not possible under present circumstances, he said, pointing out that the Court has upheld the legality of the curfew imposed under the quarantine laws.
A total of 428 Navy sailors have tested positive for COVID-19 as of last evening; 41 have recovered and have been released after being subjected to PCR tests, while 387 sailors remain under treatment.
The Sri Lanka Navy refuted allegations that it did not share information about sailors who were infected with COVID-19 with health authorities.
“Defence Ministry Secretary Maj. Gen. (Rtd.) Kamal Gunaratne categorically refutes accusations by certain electronic and print media that the Sri Lanka Navy is covering up the real situation related to spread of the coronavirus within the SLN. He said the Tri-Forces, including the SLN, were maintaining a strict transparent process of disseminating information on coronavirus-infected military personnel and the testing process,” the Ministry of Defence said, issuing a statement on their website.
“The SLN has been following all the necessary communication with the health and other responsible authorities on reporting its situation regarding the coronavirus-infected sailors and the testing process,” Defence Ministry Secretary Gunaratne said in the statement. “The SLN, as a responsible Government organisation, was strongly committed to submit all the information about sailors who had been tested and infected with the coronavirus, to the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, office of the Deputy Director General of Public Health Services, District Health Service offices and the responsible Government authorities, to support the Government mechanism to contain the spread of coronavirus,” the statement said.
A group of 320 Sri Lankans were repatriated from Chennai in India yesterday and moved to quarantine centres, the NOCPOC added.
A Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Y-20 heavy lift aircraft delivered five tons of medical supplies to assist the Sri Lankan military in their COVID-19 operations. According to the Ministry of Defense, the supplies included disposable medical masks, surgical masks, medical surgical masks (KN95), medical protective goggles, disposable medical protective screens, disposable medical protective suits, disposable medical isolation gowns, disposable medical boot covers, disposable medical gloves, infusion pumps, disinfectant sprayers, IR thermometers and two infrared image temperature observing helmets.
