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SL faces critical Covid-19 pandemic situation as positive cases approach 10,000

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5 years ago

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Contagion has already spread to 23 districts

by SURESH PERERA

With the number of Covid-19 patients in Sri Lanka fast approaching the 10,000 mark, the country is on the verge of a critical pandemic situation, a top medical official warned.

“The danger is that countries which had reached 10,000 in terms of corona virus infected persons, had seen the figures doubling in no time”, says Dr. Jayaruwan Bandara, Deputy Director of the Medical Research Institute (MRI).

He said that many countries, which topped 10,000 Covid-19 cases, experienced an unprecedented leap thereafter with figures of patients swiftly zooming to 20,000 plus in an alarming upward trajectory.

“We have to make a concerted effort to tackle the transmission of the virus and keep the emergence of new infections at bay in a bid to overcome the health crisis”, he stressed.

Dr. Bandara said the deadly infection has already spread to 23 districts in Sri Lanka but there’s every possibility that it may have crept into the other two districts as well and remain undetected.

The government has set out a series of public health guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus, and it is important to keep in mind that strict adherence to the preventive measures will help in a big way to bring the situation under control, Dr. Bandara emphasized.

“We are doing our part, and it is in the hands of the people to prevent the virus from spreading any further through responsible behavior in the face of a grave crisis”, he continued.

The elderly should take additional precautions as the infection could prove fatal, particularly to those with underlying diseases, he cautioned.

“Hypothetically, if there are 500 positive cases in every 1,000 people we screen, there will be 1,500 patients for every 3,000. One can imagine how frightening such a scenario will turn out to be”, he elaborated.

Asked about reports on the delay in PCR reports reaching patients, Dr. Bandara said there have been complaints that some reports take as many as four to five days to be released.

“Earlier, we used to issue PCR reports within 12 hours but with the surge in the number of infected patients, there is a delay”, he said.

Asked whether a PCR screening system break down has led to the accumulation of more than 10,000 reports, he said he was not aware of it but with numbers spiraling there was cause for delays.

On whether the corona viral strain that infected people in the Minuwangoda and Peliyagoda fish market second wave had a heavier load, he replied, “Yes, the strain is stronger than the previous eruption”.

Asked whether the health authorities have “lost control over tackling the contagion”, as claimed in some quarters, the Health Ministry’s Director of the Epidemiology Unit, Dr. Sudath Samaraweera, countered “if we have lost control, we will say so”.

When asked for his thoughts on the gravity of the Covid-19 situation in the country, he said: ‘Don’t bother me. I can’t be talking to the media saying the same thing all the time. I have work to do”.

“What some of these people should realize is that the support of the media is imperative in this hour of need to create greater public awareness”, a senior medical official said.

With the virus going haywire, health officials may be under tremendous pressure, but being hostile to the media is simply counter-productive in a crisis situation, he added.

“After all, the media is not to be blamed for the mess up”.


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Heat Index at ‘Caution level’ in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Anuradhapura, Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts

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1 hour ago

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2026/03/26

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Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of  Meteorology
at 3.30 p.m. on 25 March 2026, valid for 26 March 2026.

The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in
Anuradhapura, Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry
of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

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US dodges question on AKD’s claim SL denied permission for military aircraft to land

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1 hour ago

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2026/03/26

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President

By Shamindra Ferdinando

A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Colombo declared that the United States and Sri Lanka maintain a long-standing defence partnership, grounded in transparency, mutual respect, and shared interests.

The official said so in response to The Island query regarding President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s recent bombshell disclosure, in Parliament, that his government declined to allow the US Air Force to use the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, following the eruption of the latest West Asia war.

We sought views of the US on President Dissanayake’s claim against the backdrop of Sri Lanka being a party to the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) since 2007. Sri Lanka extended the ACSA in 2017, for another 10-year period, and its extension comes up next year.

The President revealed that the US had requested permission to use Mattala, between 04 and 08 March.

Claiming that the request had been made on 26 February, two days before the war began, President Dissanayake said that the US had sought to land two aircraft, carrying eight anti-ship missiles, but that the request had been turned down to maintain Sri Lanka’s neutrality. The President revealed that the aircraft were to come from a US base in Djibouti.

The US embassy pokesperson explained that questions related to operational movements, including ‘Operation Epic Fury’, should be directed to the Department of War (DOW) in Washington.

Camp Lemonnier is the primary base of operations for US Africa Command in the Horn of Africa. China, too, has its only overseas military base in Djibouti in the vicinity.

Military sources said whatever various interested parties said about US-Sri Lanka relations, the former provided significant intelligence support during last phase of the conflict that enabled the Navy to hunt down floating LTTE arsenals in international waters. Of the eight LTTE vessels sunk, the US backed four hits with specific intelligence, sources said.

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No decrease in remittances from workers due to Gulf conflict, but significant drop in tourist arrivals – CB Governor

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1 hour ago

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2026/03/26

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CBSL Governor

Sri Lanka’s worker remittances had not seen a decrease despite the ongoing conflict in West Asia, Central Bank (CBSL) Governor, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said yesterday.

“Based on currently available data, they have not seen a decline in remittances. In fact, according to that we have observed, is a slight increase in remittances in the past few days, ” the Governor said at a media conference held at the Central Bank head office in Colombo.

Governor Weerasinghe also mentioned that he had not seen any reports about Sri Lankans returning to the country from the Middle East due to the ongoing conflict.

The Central Bank Governor, however, acknowledged that there had been a decrease in tourist arrivals. He confirmed that tourist arrivals had decreased by around 17 percent due to the current volatile situation in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has decided to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at the current level of 7.75%, following its latest Monetary Policy Board meeting.

By Hiran H Senewiratne

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