News

Health Minister says SL is a leader in battling Coronavirus

Published

5 years ago

2020/10/25

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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Navy seize an Indian fishing boat poaching in northern waters

Published

8 hours ago

2026/01/3

Priyan

During an operation conducted in the dark hours of 01 Jan 26, the Sri Lanka Navy seized an Indian fishing boat and apprehended 11 Indian fishermen while they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters, off Kovilan of Kareinagar, Jaffna.

The Northern Naval Command spotted a group of Indian fishing boats engaging in illegal fishing, trespassing into Sri Lankan waters. In response, naval craft of the Northern Naval Command were deployed to drive away those Indian fishing boats from island waters off Kovilan.

Meanwhile, compliant boarding made by naval personnel resulted in the seizure of one Indian fishing boat and apprehension of 11 Indian fishermen who continued to engage in illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters.

The seized boat (01) and Indian fishermen (11) were handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Myliddy, Jaffna for onward legal proceedings.

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Tri-Forces donate LKR. 372 million, a day’s pay of all ranks to ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund

Published

14 hours ago

2026/01/3

Priyan

Members of all ranks from the Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force have collectively donated a day’s basic salary to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, which was established to restore livelihoods and rebuild the country following the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.

Accordingly, the total contribution made by the Tri-Forces amounts to LKR. 372,776,918.28.

The cheques representing the financial contributions were handed over on Wednesday (31 December) at the Presidential Secretariat to the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.

The donations comprised LKR. 250 million from the Commander of the Army, Major General Lasantha Rodrigo; LKR. 73,963,879.71 from the Commander of the Navy, Rear Admiral Kanchana Banagoda and LKR. 48,813,038.97 from the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Vasu Bandu Edirisinghe.

Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, was also present on the occasion.

News

CEB demands 11.57 percent power tariff hike in first quarter

Published

17 hours ago

2026/01/3

Thilina Walpola

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has submitted a proposal to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) seeking an 11.57 percent increase in electricity tariffs for the first quarter of 2026, citing an estimated revenue shortfall and additional financial pressures, including cyclone-related damages.

According to documents issued by the PUCSL, the proposed tariff revision would apply to electricity consumption from January to March 2026 and includes changes to both energy charges and fixed monthly charges across all consumer categories, including domestic, religious, industrial, commercial and other users.

Under the proposal, domestic electricity consumers would face increases in unit rates as well as fixed monthly charges across all consumption blocks.

The CEB has estimated a deficit of Rs. 13,094 million for the first quarter of 2026, which it says necessitates the proposed 11.57 per cent tariff hike. The utility has noted that any deviation from this estimate whether a surplus or a shortfall will be adjusted through the Bulk Supply Tariff Adjustment (BSTA) mechanism and taken into account in the next tariff revision.

In its submission, the CEB said the proposed revision is aimed at ensuring the financial and operational stability of the power sector and mitigating potential risks to the reliability of electricity supply. The board-approved tariff structure for the first quarter of 2026 has been submitted to the PUCSL for approval and subsequent implementation, as outlined in Annex II of the proposal.

The CEB has also highlighted the financial impact of Cyclone Ditwah, which it said caused extensive damage to electricity infrastructure, with total losses estimated at around Rs. 20 billion. Of this amount, Rs. 7,016.52 million has been attributed to the first quarter of 2026, which the utility said has a direct bearing on electricity tariffs.

The CEB warned that if external funding is not secured to cover the cyclone-related expenditure, the costs incurred would need to be recovered through electricity tariffs in the second-quarter revision of 2026.

Meanwhile, the PUCSL has said that a decision on whether to approve the proposed tariff increase will be made only after following due regulatory procedures and holding discussions on the matter.

By Sujeewa Thathsara ✍️