SL’s sole coronavirus patient discharged

A Chinese woman who was infected with the COVID-19 virus and received treatment at the National Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) was discharged yesterday.

Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi visited her in hospital before she was discharged.

She was scheduled to leave for China last morning and was taken directly to the airport from the hospital, health authorities revealed.

The 43-year-old female Chinese national was the first and only case of coronavirus reported in Sri Lanka. She arrived in Sri Lanka with a tour group on 19 January from China’s Hubei Province and was preparing to return home when she displayed symptoms of the coronavirus infection during screening at the Bandaranaike International Airport. She was subsequently admitted for treatment at the National Infectious Disease Hospital on 26 January. The other travellers accompanying her had left the country earlier.

Strict screening continues to be implemented within Sri Lanka with Health Ministry oversight.