News

Lockdown, not Sinopharm immediate solution – SLMA

Published

5 years ago

2021/05/21

BY Rathindra Kuruwita

Sinopharm vaccine took six weeks to be effective and it did not provide an immediate solution to the current health emergency, President of the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) Dr Padma Sriyani Gunaratne said yesterday.

“With AstraZeneca there is some protection after two weeks, but you need the second dose. However, Sinopharm doesn’t work like that. You are given a second dose in four weeks after the first jab. Protection kicks in two weeks after the second jab. Even if we vaccinate all Sri Lankans this week, it will take six weeks for the vaccines to start working,” she said.

Dr. Gunaratne said that vaccines played a vital role in the fight against the virus in the long term, but the government needed to go for a lockdown to get the situation under control, she said.

“Moreover, we have given two doses of any vaccine to about 1% of the people. This isn’t an adequate number to offer protection to the community. Hopefully, we can speed up vaccination. But this doesn’t help us in the short term. “When people start falling sick in large numbers, it will be impossible to keep factories going even if the government tries to avoid lockdowns.”

Consultant Immunologist and head of the department of Immunology – MRI, Dr Nihan Rajiva de Silva said that in other countries around 2% of COVID-19 cases died. In Sri Lanka the number was at 0.6% because the health sector still had a grip on the situation.

“If we don’t control the situation, health staff will be overwhelmed,” he said.

These views were shared by State Minister of Primary Health Care, Epidemics and COVID Disease Control Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle, who said the people must remain indoors for at least two weeks to halt the spread of the pandemic.

“Asymptomatic COVID-19 patients may be in the community and spending too much time outdoors could expose people to the virus,” she warned.

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SAARC journalists meet in New Delhi

Published

2 hours ago

2026/02/6

Priyan

President of SJF Sri Lanka Chapter Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi hands over a memento to Dr Alok Kumar Mishra Joint Secretary of the Association of Indian Universities

Members of the South Asian Journalists Forum have gathered at the University of New Delhi for a two day conference themed ‘Peace and Co-operation’.

Journalists from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and India are attending the conference hosted by the University of Delhi in collaboration with the India Chapter of SJF, and will deliberate on how the media can act as a catalyst for regional stability and mutual coexsistence.

A tree plantation campaign was also held at the Ghandi Bhawan premises of the University to mark the event and symbolize growing regional ties.

The Sri Lanka delegation is led by President of SJF’s Sri Lanka Chapter Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi.

News

Governor of Gujarat met with Sri Lanka PM to discuss exposition of Devnimori Relics

Published

4 hours ago

2026/02/6

Priyan

The Governor of the of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat, along with the Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, Harsh Sanghvi, met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Thursdy [February 05] at the Parliamentary Complex to discuss the arrangements related to the exposition of the Devnimori Sacred Relics of Lord Buddha, which have been brought to Sri Lanka under the patronage of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government of India.

These sacred relics of Lord Buddha were discovered during archaeological excavations conducted in the 1960s at the historic Devnimori site in Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Until now, these relics had never been taken outside India. As a result of discussions held between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Sri Lanka, the people of Sri Lanka have been granted this rare opportunity to venerate these sacred relics.

The exposition of the relics is being held for a period of seven days, from February 05 to February 11, at the Gangaramaya Temple in Hunupitiya, Colombo. Discussions were held between both parties regarding the arrangements related to this event.

The discussion was attended by Samar Nanda, Joint Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Culture; Dr. Satyanjal Pandey, Acting High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka; Abhijit Halder, Director General of the International Buddhist Confederation; along with several others.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

News

INS GHARIAL makes port call in Colombo

Published

10 hours ago

2026/02/6

Priyan

The Indian Naval Ship (INS) GHARIAL made a port call in Colombo for operational turnarounds on 04 Feb 26. The Sri Lanka Navy welcomed the visiting ship in compliance with naval traditions.

Commanded by Commander Gaurav Tewari, INS GHARIAL is a vessel with a length of 124.8 meters.

During this visit, ten (10) Bailey Bridges, brought by ship, through the coordination of the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka, will be handed over to the Disaster Management Center. These bridges will provide temporary transportation links while bridges damaged across the island by adverse weather conditions are repaired.

The crew’s itinerary features scheduled goodwill activities with the Sri Lanka Navy, alongside visits to several tourist attractions across the island.