News

SL facing just beginning of Delta crisis – expert

Published

5 years ago

2021/08/28

By Rathindra Kuruwita

COVID-19 had reached the community spread stage in the Western Province, some parts of the Northern Province and in the Galle and Matara districts, Prof. Manuj C. Weerasinghe, Head, Department of Community Medicine said on Thursday. He is also involved in the ‘904’ SMS-based system to manage home quarantined Covid-19 patients.

Prof. Weerasinghe said that naming clusters, i.e. Avurudu Pokura, Malu Market Pokura, etc., no longer made any sense as the country was only at the beginning of the crisis created by the Delta variant

“We are only seeing the beginning. We must not dupe ourselves into thinking that we are near the end of the crisis created by Delta,” he said,

Prof. Weerasinghe said that there was no point in talking about the official figures, or planning based on the numbers at their disposal. Making assumptions based on these numbers will only lead to trouble, he said.

“We have to look beyond the numbers and understand the dynamics of the real world. We can safely assume that if there is one COVID positive person in the house, most of the other members too are infected. Given that it’s not easy to get tested, other family members won’t be in the official statistics. This is not only a health crisis but also the beginninf of a social crisis,” he said.

Moreover, in most Sri Lankan households, young people of 18 liveed among senior citizens and thus, the medical attention they need differed, he said, adding that no one had thought of what happened after the travel restrictions were lifted. “Given that we have not imposed a curfew to ensure that people remain in their homes, the effectiveness of the current lockdown is questionabl,” he said.

“Is there a way to enforce effective travel restrictions short of a curfew? It’s good if there is such a method. It’s even better if people stay home when they are asked to do so. However, we know this is not how things happen in the real world. There is a segment of people who will try to do the opposite of what they are advised to do. We have to take severe action because there are such people,” he said.

The extension of the lockdown for another week had given the government and health officials time to decide what they want to achieve during the lockdown, he said. Having objectives and benchmarks were important because it showed what the government wanted to achieve with the lockdown and gave everyone an opportunity to think beyond the lockdown, the Professor said.

“The lockdown has given us breathing space. We must think whether we should revitalize inactive systems or to create new systems to ensure that most people don’t need to travel after the lockdown is lifted. Now people are home and we expect things are going well. There is no planning and when restrictions are lifted, there will be a bit of normalcy for a few days. Then the cases will go up again and we will have to lockdown. This is not a sustainable system,” he said.

The government and most of its detractors were focused on the pros and cons of locking down the country. However, what mattered more was what the country had done to prepare itself to post lockdown context, he said.

“What have we done in the last seven days? Do we have systems in place for people to work and live without coming into contact with each other? At this rate, the social crisis created by COVID-19 will grow rapidly and once we hit a critical point, we will have no options left,” he warned.

MePrimary Health Services Director Dr. Priyantha Atapattu said that the real cases were at least five times more than the reported cases and whether Sri Lanka could return to some sort of normalcy would depend on whether the society could be mobilized to fight the pandemic.

“People are the vector and we have to find a way to keep them home,” he said.

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News

Sun directly overhead Galle, Angulugaha, Imaduwa, Telijjawila, Yatiyana and Tangalle about 12.08 noon today (07)

Published

12 hours ago

2026/09/7

Priyan

The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.

The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (07) are Galle, Angulugaha, Imaduwa, Telijjawila, Yatiyana and Tangalle about 12.08 noon.

News

‘Choka Malli’ slips out of country before travel ban

Published

15 hours ago

2026/09/7

Thilina Walpola

Premalal

By Norman Palihawadane

The CID recently found that former SLPP Deputy Minister Premalal Jayasekara, better known as ‘Choka Malli’, had left for Thailand when the Supreme Court imposed an overseas travel ban on him last Friday.

The CID discovered that Jayasekara had left Sri Lanka on August 31, while authorities were taking steps to enforce the travel restriction imposed by the Supreme Court. The Department has subsequently informed the Attorney General’s Department of the development.

The Supreme Court last Friday ordered Jayasekara, and two other men, to appear before court on October 21, and imposed a ban on their overseas travel.

The orders were made as the Supreme Court considered an appeal challenging the acquittal of the three men in connection with the 2015 murder of Shantha Dodangoda, also known as D.G. Sunil Perera.

The appeal was filed by Dodangoda’s wife against a decision of the Court of Appeal to acquit and release Jayasekara and the two other accused, who had previously been convicted and sentenced to death by the Ratnapura High Court.

Dodangoda was killed in a shooting in Kahawatta town, in the early hours of January 5, 2015, while a group of people were putting up decorations for an election rally in support of then common Opposition presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena.

Two others, Karunadasa Weerasinghe and Mohamed Ilfan, were seriously injured in the shooting.

Following the incident, the Ratnapura High Court convicted Jayasekara, former Chairman of the Kahawatta Pradeshiya Sabha Wajira Darshana de Silva, and former Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council member Nilanta Jayakody, sentencing all three to death.

The Court of Appeal subsequently acquitted the three men and ordered their release.

The victim’s wife later challenged the acquittal before the Supreme Court.

The appeal was taken up before a Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justices Achala Wengappuli and Gihan Kulatunga.

During the proceedings, Deputy Solicitor General Janaka Bandara requested that the court impose overseas travel restrictions on Jayasekara and the other respondents.

The Supreme Court subsequently ordered all three to appear before the court on October 21 and imposed travel bans on them.

President’s Counsel Nalin Ladduwahetty, President’s Counsel U.R. de Silva and President’s Counsel Anuja Premaratne appeared for the respondents. President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris represented the aggrieved party.

Police sources said that the discovery that Jayasekara had already left for Thailand, on August 31, has raised concerns over the timing and enforcement of the travel ban.

Sources said that the CID had notified the Attorney General’s Department and was taking further action in relation to the development.

News

Dengue death toll rises to 73

Published

15 hours ago

2026/09/7

Thilina Walpola

By Pradeep Prasanna Samarakoon

The number of deaths from dengue fever in Sri Lanka has risen to 73 this year, with 96,228 cases reported across the country so far, according to the Dengue Control Unit.

The latest figures indicate that dengue continues to pose a significant public health concern, with 737 new cases recorded during the first four days of September alone.

Dengue infections peaked in July, when 29,964 cases were reported, according to the latest data. June recorded the second-highest monthly total, with 21,533 cases, while 10,155 cases were reported in August.

Earlier in the year, 8,590 cases were recorded in May and 7,866 cases in January.The Western Province remains the worst-affected area, accounting for more than half of all dengue cases reported nationwide. A total of 50,851 cases have been recorded in the province, representing 52.84% of the country’s total.

The Southern Province has recorded 13,950 cases, followed by the Central Province with 8,818 cases and Sabaragamuwa Province with 7,925 cases.