Saturday Dec 28, 2024
Saturday Dec 28, 2024
Thursday, 26 August 2021 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya
Sri Lanka’s total COVID-19 detections crossed the 400,000-mark yesterday with the detection of 4,483 new COVID-19 patients and the addition of over 4,000 delayed cases.
According to the Epidemiology Unit, 4,484 COVID-19 cases reported in the last five days were added to the total case count yesterday after being verified by health officials.
“We have corrected 80% of the data and have 20% to fix. This will be done in the next few days,” Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena said.
In addition to this, 4,472 persons from the New Year cluster and 11 overseas arrivals tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday.
The Health Promotion Bureau stated that 18,051 PCR tests were carried out yesterday. The previous day, 14,356 PCR tests and 3,302 rapid antigen tests were carried out.
On Tuesday, 4,446 persons tested positive for COVID-19. Of this, 4,420 were from the New Year cluster, 19 were Sri Lankan overseas arrivals, and seven were from the Prisons cluster.
A total of 407,768 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 to date, including 300,300 persons from the New Year cluster, 8,124 persons from the Prisons cluster, 6,775 Sri Lankan overseas arrivals, and 328 foreigners.
The Epidemiology Unit states that 92,231 persons from Colombo, 73,970 persons from Gampaha, 42,067 persons from Kalutara, 22,251 persons from Galle, and 19,090 persons from Kurunegala have tested positive for COVID-19 to date.
During the third wave of the pandemic, 59,934 patients from Colombo, 55,436 patients from Gampaha, and 35,009 patients from Kalutara were detected.
At present, 50,890 persons are under medical or home-based care and hospitals are observing 4,227 persons suspected of having COVID-19.
The country’s COVID-19 recoveries rose to 348,930 with 2,163 persons leaving hospitals yesterday.
Meanwhile, Colombo District Secretary Pradeep Yasaratne yesterday said Colombo District mobile vendors operating during quarantine curfew would be required to be fully vaccinated.
Legal action will be taken under quarantine regulations against any mobile vendor who is not fully vaccinated but still engages in business while quarantine curfew is in place in Colombo District.
According to Yasaratne, the Meegoda, Narahenpita, Ratmalana, and Bokundara economic centres will remain open while quarantine curfew is in place, with 12,294 mobile vendors and 1,498 wholesale outlets currently in operation, covering the 13 divisional secretariat divisions in the district. They will operate along 2,345 registered delivery routes.
The District Secretary added that 300,000 families in the district who lost their livelihood due to lockdown were eligible for the Rs. 2,000 allowance from the Government.
In the Kandy District, 137,475 families are eligible for the allowance, while 99,466 families in Badulla District, 66,476 families in Hambantota District, and 91,564 families in Anuradhapura District are also eligible for the allowance.
