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Health Minister says SL is a leader in battling Coronavirus

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by Imesh Ranasinghe

Sri Lanka is a leader in battling the Coronavirus compared to many other countries Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi told Parliament on Friday as she closed the day-long debate on the current second wave of infections which has engulfed much of the island.

Thirteen districts in the country have reported cases as of today and 609 new patients were traced today with nearly 500 coming from the Peliyagoda Fish market which is rapidly becoming a new epicentre for the second wave. Fishery harbours in Beruwela and Galle also reported Covid positive cases, the Department of Government Information said.

The Minister claimed that no country in the world maintains quarantine centres or does contact tracing of first and second contacts of an infected patient like in Sri Lanka.

She did not answer a question raised by the National People’s Power leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa whether the spread of the disease is not coming from the community.

The Minister’s Parliamentary colleague Prof Tissa Vitharana, a renown Virologist and former head of the Medical Research Institute, however, said that he is of the opinion that the “virus is in the community.”

Wanniarachchi said that within two to three days of finding the COVID cluster in Brandix the Health Ministry issued updated guidelines to the general public to follow in terms of gatherings and day-to-day lifestyles.

She pointed out that she had Gazetted the regulations making them laws.

The Minister said that most COVID positive patients in Sri Lanka asymptomatic and act as “superspreaders” who can spread the virus to a thousand people by just attending one wedding as that particular person does not know that he or she has the virus.

She also said that even if one or two COVID patients were found in a district the virus did not further spread in the district as all the contacts of the patient were identified and directed to quarantine properly.

“We are dealing with a global pandemic. When we found the first few patients we locked down the entire country but depending on the social and economic conditions now we cannot act in that manner,” she said.

She said that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has informed the Health Ministry about the availability of new WHO-approved vaccine to treat COVID-19 patients in the near future and ask to prepare the country to receive the said vaccine.

Moreover, she said that the government took the decision based on directions given by expert epidemiologists who have experience and understanding how the world had dealt with the virus.

Further, she said that by the time Sri Lanka found its first COVID-19 patient, the country had only one lab to do PCR tests which was the Medical Research Institute (MRI).

“But by March we established 6 labs and by today these tests are done in 26 labs,” she added.

The Health Minister also said that by January the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) had only 150 beds and by March they were able to increase that to 250 beds but by October they were able to arrange 3500 beds to treat patients in 30 hospitals.

Also, she added that the country has managed to increase the capacity to carry out PCR tests per day from 250 in March to 8,000 today and that there is no shortage of PCR test equipment or PPEs. (ECONOMYNEXT)



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Landslide Early Warnings issued to the districts of Kalutara, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura

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The National Building Research Organisation [NBRO] has issued landslide early warnings to the districts of Kalutara, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura effective from 0400hrs on 12th June 2026 to 0400hrs on 13th June 2026

Accordingly,
LEVEL I [YELLOW] landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Palindanuwara in the Kalutara district, Doluwa in the Kandy district, Ambagamuwa in the Nuwara Eliya district and Pelmadulla, Ayagama, Ratnapura, Godakawela, Kalawana and Nivitigala in the Ratnapura district

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Wife, counsel seek regular access to ex-Spy Chief Sallay held under President’s detention order

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Suresh Sallay

Wife of former State Intelligence Chief Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Suresh Sallay has asked CID Director retired SSP Shani Abeysekera to allow her, her family members and lawyers to visit her husband in the National Hospital, Colombo. Sallay’s counsel has also written to Abeysekera, asking for permission to visit the former spy held on a detention order signed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

The text of Manori’s letter: “I respectfully request your assistance in granting me, and my daughter or alternatively my son, permission to visit my husband, Rtd. Major General Suresh Sallay, who is currently at the National Hospital, Colombo.

“As you are aware, my husband is presently engaged in a fast-unto-death campaign. His physical condition and emotional well-being are of deep concern to our family. During this difficult period, the presence and support of his immediate family are extremely important to him.

“I firmly believe that regular visits from me with our daughter or our son would help uplift his spirits, provide him with much-needed emotional strength, and may encourage him to reconsider continuing this course of action. Family support can play a vital role in preserving his mental and emotional health while he remains hospitalised.

“In view of these exceptional circumstances, I kindly request that permission be granted for either me and my daughter or my son to visit him daily during the period of his hospitalisation.

“I would be most grateful for your compassionate consideration of this request.”

“The text of the counsel’s letter: “I write in my capacity as Counsel for Rtd. Major General Suresh Sallay, who is presently under detention and admitted to the National Hospital, Colombo.

As you are aware, Major General Sallay has embarked on a fast-unto-death campaign, giving rise to serious concerns regarding his physical and mental well-being. In these circumstances, it is imperative that I be granted reasonable and regular access to my client during his hospitalisation.

As his legal representative, I have a professional obligation to monitor his condition and obtain instructions from him so that I may accurately apprise the relevant courts of his health status and any developments affecting his rights and welfare. Effective legal representation requires continuous communication with my client, particularly in light of the grave circumstances presently confronting him.

I also wish to respectfully highlight that Major General Sallay has placed explicit trust and confidence in me as his counsel. Indeed, I was the first person he contacted following his arrest.

Given the trust he reposes in me, I believe I am uniquely positioned to engage with him constructively and persuade him to discontinue this campaign and instead place his confidence in the legal remedies and judicial processes available to him.

For these reasons, I respectfully request that I be granted permission to visit my client on a daily basis during the period of his hospitalization.

Such access would not only facilitate the discharge of my professional responsibilities but may also contribute meaningfully towards safeguarding his health and encouraging a resolution through lawful and institutional means.

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CIABOC summons Yoshitha over his participation in British Navy training programme

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Yoshitha

Yoshitha Rajapaksa, who served as a Lieutenant in the Sri Lanka Navy, has now been summoned to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption next Tuesday (16) for questioning over his participation in a Royal Navy training programme in the United Kingdom outside established procedures.

The Commission is expected to record statements in relation to several complaints received regarding his recruitment and subsequent service in the Navy after he enlisted on December 14, 2006.

According to sources, the investigation focuses on allegations concerning the educational qualifications considered at the time of his enlistment, as well as foreign training opportunities he is said to have received while in service, which are suspected to have been granted in violation of due process.

The Bribery Commission has launched the inquiry under the provisions of the Anti-Corruption Act, officials said.

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