News

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

Published

5 years ago

2020/11/1

Sahan Weerasooriya

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”.

All News Advertisement

Latest News

Landslide Early Warnings issued to the Districts of Kurunegala and Ratnapura

Published

37 mins ago

2026/04/23

Priyan

The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) has issued Landslide Early Warnings to the Districts of Kurunegala and Ratnapura effective from 16:00 hrs on 23.04.2026 To 16:00 hrs on 24.04.2026

Accordingly,

Level 1 landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Rideegama in the Kurunegala district and Kuruwita, Kalawana, Ratnapura, Nivithigala, Pelmadulla and Eheliyagoda in the Ratnapura district.

Latest News

Advisory for Severe Lightning issued for the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western, North-central, Southern, Uva provinces, and Ampara and Batticaloa districts

Published

2 hours ago

2026/04/23

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology
Issued at 12.00 noon 23 April 2026 valid for the period until 11.30 p.m. 23 April 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western, North-central, Southern, Uva provinces, and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts after 1.00 p.m.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:
The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
• Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
• Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
• Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
• Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
• Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
• For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

News

Compensation payments and reconstruction activities related to the Ditwah relief measures must be expedited with special attention at the district level – PM

Published

12 hours ago

2026/04/23

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya emphasized that compensation payments and reconstruction activities related to the Ditwah relief measures must be expedited with special attention at the district level. She further stated that all necessary allocations have already been made to Provincial Councils and instructed that the progress of disaster damage assessments and reconstruction efforts be closely monitored at the provincial level.

The Prime Minister made these remarks at a discussion held on Tuesday (21) at Temple Trees under her patronage, aimed at informing Chairpersons of District Coordination Committees and public representatives from disaster-affected districts, in order to accelerate the implementation of the “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” programme. The discussion focused on expediting disaster relief and compensation payments, as well as the swift restoration of infrastructure damaged by the disaster.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Rs. 500 billion has been allocated for damages caused by the Ditwah cyclone, and that all relevant development activities must be completed before the end of 2026. The Prime Minister also instructed officials to pay special attention to resolving issues at the local level that are causing delays in compensation payments.

Senior Additional Secretary to the President, G.M.R.D. Aponsu, stated that the estimated cost for reconstruction following the Ditwah cyclone is approximately USD 3.4 billion. Accordingly, funds have been allocated for compensation across several sectors including housing and social infrastructure, agriculture and livestock, fisheries, industry and livelihoods, and irrigation. He further noted that 99% of the Rs. 25,000 allowance has already been disbursed, while 95% of the Rs. 50,000 resettlement allowance has been paid. Compensation for fully and partially damaged houses is still ongoing, and 99% of temporary relief centres have been closed.

Additionally, attention was drawn to several other measures, including providing Rs. 25,000 to affected schoolchildren, paying Rs. 1 million as compensation for each deceased individual, compensation for children who lost one or both parents, support for persons with disabilities affected by the disaster, compensation for agricultural losses, and expediting resettlement of displaced families. Measures such as allocating land for new housing construction and accelerating the issuance of reports from the National Building Research Organization were also discussed.

Focus was also placed on the reconstruction of affected schools, hospitals, and daycare centres, improving the accuracy and speed of data collection at the local level, and accelerating infrastructure development.

The event was attended by Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure Samantha Vidyarathna, Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government Dr. Chandana Abayarathna, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Namal Karunaratne, Deputy Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperatives R.M. Jayawardena, Deputy Minister of Education Dr. Madhura Senevirathna, Members of Parliament, Chairpersons of District Coordination Committees, Chief of Staff to the President and Commissioner General of Essential Services Prabath Chandrakeerthi, Additional Secretary to the President Jayantha Bandara; and officials of the Prime Minister’s Office.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]