News
Highly contagious UK Covid-19 variant trigger spike in Covid-19 cases in SL
by Suresh Perera
The alarming spike in Covid-19 positive cases in Sri Lanka over the past few days could be associated with the widespread transmissibility of the highly contagious, mutant viral strain first identified in the United Kingdom, a senior medical official said.
There is every possibility that the virulent variant of the contagion may have sneaked into Sri Lanka before flights from Britain were suspended on December 23, 2020, says Prof. Neelika Malavige of the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Sri Jayewardenepura University.
“The British Coronavirus variant has a higher transmissibility level, and that may be the reason for the surge, with positive cases peaking to almost one thousand in Sri Lanka on Thursday”, she noted.
When dealing with a highly contagious virus, numbers are bound to spiral as it spreads faster within the community. That’s why there should be a collective effort to ward off the threat”, she stressed.
The Sri Jayewardenepura University announced last week that the latest variant of B.1.1.7 lineage was found in Colombo, Avissawella, Biyagama and Vavuniya.
The Covid-19 British variant has already been found in 90 countries, Prof. Malavige said. “I believe the strain would have found its way to Sri Lanka around mid December last year before the British health authorities discovered it and alerted the world”.
The biggest threat of transmission of the virus is not so much on an individual-to-individual basis but through social and public gatherings, which leads to ‘super spreading’, she explained. “This kicks the balance”.
People should be mindful and avoid gatherings to help prevent community spread of the pandemic, the microbiologist remarked.
As the jab is efficient against the new British variant, the only answer to the raging virus is vaccinating more and more people as early as possible, she suggested.
There is a big demand for the jab but the limiting factor is the supply. It is true that the government has ordered more consignments of the vaccine to meet the demand, but it does not mean that stocks will arrive tomorrow,
The strategy should be to intensify the inoculation drive against the pandemic, which has impacted adversely on the country in economic, social and psychological terms, the Professor further said. “The temporary closure of schools have disrupted the education of children”.
Prof. Malavige said that Sri Lanka has done far better in managing the pandemic than Europe and other western countries, where thousands of people have succumbed to the contagion. Patients with co-morbidity such as diabetes and kidney diseases face a bigger risk in terms of mortality.
Describing Covid-19 as an “unseen enemy”, the expert on microbiology recalled that the virus was initially detected in Sri Lanka around January 2020. However, within a year, a jab was accessed to inoculate the people. This was done at super speed.
She said the health sector has gone that extra mile to control the transmission of the virus. However, without a collective effort, there’s no way of overcoming the challenge. Therefore, public support through adherence to specific health guidelines should be an integral part of the thrust to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
With the new viral strain raising concern and forcing a new national lockdown in the UK, experts have warned it may be up to 70 percent more infectious and about 30 percent more lethal than other variants.
This has led to global panic, the international media reported in the backdrop of Sharon Peacock, director of the Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium, cautioning that “having ripped through the UK and rippled outwards, the Kent variant was now on course to sweep the world, in all probability”.
In Sri Lanka, Covid-19 related deaths shot up to 383, with 74,049 infections as of last Friday. The Health Ministry’s Epidemiology Unit reported that 66,778 patients had recovered from the virus so far.
Italian Naval Ship ‘PPA MONTECUCCOLI’ which arrived in Sri Lanka on 10th October 2024, departed the island today (13th October), on successful completion of her formal visit. The Sri Lanka Navy bade customary farewell to the departing ship at the Colombo port, following naval traditions.
On her departure, ‘PPA MONTECUCCOLI’ engaged in a successful Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with SLNS Gajabahu. The PASSEX involved training exercises in communication and tactical maneuvering, concluding with the traditional cheer ship salute
Latest News
President instructs officials to provide immediate relief to those affected by adverse weather conditions
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed officials to provide immediate relief to those affected by the recent adverse weather conditions across the country.
He also instructed the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence to ensure special attention is given to the safety of people in districts impacted by floods and landslides and to provide necessary support for effective relief operations.
The President emphasized that the government will take action to provide necessary assistance to all affected citizens and that local government officials in the affected areas will be engaged to ensure the people receive the required aid. Until such time, the President requested the public to act cautiously.
Additionally, the President instructed the Ministry of Finance to allocate Rs. 50 million for relief services and urged state officials to ensure proper coordination in delivering the relief to those in need.
According to the Disaster Management Centre, 24,492 individuals from 6,018 families have been affected by floods and landslides in 11 districts due to the adverse weather conditions experienced in recent days.
At present, 2,200 individuals from 584 families are being sheltered in 23 relief centres. Relief operations in all affected districts have already begun, coordinated by state officials through the Chief of Defence Staff’s office.
Emergency situations can be reported by contacting the Disaster Management Centre’s hotline number 117or by calling 0112136136, 0112136222, or 0112670002.
By Norman Palihawadane
Massive file retrieval for re-examination goes on at police headquarters and CID by engaging investigators in perusing evidence related to over thousand cases of the past two decades, police headquarters sources said.
The investigators have been divided into teams for what a senior police officer called ‘cold case investigation’ perusing archived documents and some are engaged in re-scrutinizing the evidence pertaining to several ongoing cases as well.
When contacted for comment, Acting IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya said that afresh investigation of Easter Sunday terror attacks has been commenced and officers have already started recording statements from various parties including those who had already testified before courts and commissions involved in previous probes.
“There is evidence to prove that many former investigations either deliberately overlooked or missed some vital information and facts. The CID has been tasked with the case reopening process. I can promise that new investigations will yield results to bring about justice to many. For example, the CID is looking to gather evidence from many new angles in the Wasim Thajudeen case,” Weerasooriya told The Island.
Prior to investigations a list of names of persons and officers who had been connected to investigations into controversial cases has been sent to the airport and a special police team has been detailed by the Ministry of Public Security to prevent them leaving the country, the Public Security Ministry sources said.
Among the new case-reopening process are several organized crimes involving some officers from the Colombo Crimes Division. Relevant CCD officials have been found trying to flee the country, police headquarters sources said.
The IGP has promised to overhaul CCD and to appoint a new director to the Division.
Sources within the Division said that many officers have found it uncomfortable to face the probes and there were concerns that some sensitive documents related to certain investigations conducted by the CCD might have been destroyed.
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