Coronavirus Updates
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ECONOMYNEXT – Twenty-four persons, the largest number of COVID 19 positive patients detected on a given day were found today, the government announced.
They are all from the Bandaranayake Mawatha area in Aluth Kade a press release issued by the Department of Information quoting Director General of Health Services Dr Anil Jasinghe said.
The cluster stemming from a family that returned from a pilgrimage to India on March 14 has now grown to a total of 45 people all living in the neighbourhood in the Keselwatte Police area called Roti Kade Watte.
The region is in lockdown and those measures are likely to be enforced in the entire Keselwatte area.
This is close to the Courts complex.
The area is described as a mixed neighbourhood with people of different economic levels, ethnicities and professions typical of central Colombo.
According to available records, three members of the same family returned to Colombo from India on March 14.
A month later on April 15, the son called the Infectious Diseases Hospital and informed them that his mother had symptoms and she was tested positive on April 16. The father and the son also tested positive the same day.
The family said they did not think she had COVID 19 at first because she was asthmatic, health officials said.
The woman in question told health officials that a passenger on the aircraft she travelled in had been coughing and she had changed her seat as she had an asthmatic condition.
The same day the area was sealed and the 12 people, the neighbours of this nucleus family had been quarantined and the following day 6 of them tested positive even though they did not show obvious symptoms.
Then health officials spread the dragnet and started to test more people in the area after sealing the neighbourhood.
On April 19, 12 more people from the neighbourhood tested positive in the quarantine centre.
Today another 24 have tested positive bringing the total to 45. (Colombo, April 20, 2020)
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Curfew that was scheduled to be relaxed in the Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Puttalam districts will continue to be imposed till 5 am, April 27 (Monday), the President’s Media Division (PMD) said.
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ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s total confirmed Coronavirus cases reached 303 by 1530 hours on April 20, the health ministry said, with more members of a cluster that was discovered during curfew becoming positive.
Sri Lanka confirmed over 30 cases from on April 20, after confirming 17 cases the day earlier.
During Sri Lanka’s month long curfew a symptomatic case turned up on April 15 in hospital from a person who had returned from India on March 12, leaving time for multiple levels of contacts to get the disease and spread to the next one.
Authorities said a key person in the cluster had sewn masks and sold it to a pharmacy. The masks had not been sold. They were confiscated and workers in the pharmacy were also isolated.
Sri Lanka has delayed the lifting of curfew in Colombo to April 27 from April 23 after the new cluster was discovered. Authorities imposed the curfew to discover such cases.
However Sri Lanka still does not test outside of symptomatic index cases discovered leaving a chance for an asymptomatic cluster to form. (Colombo/Apr20/2020)
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Coronavirus Cases:
2,482,598
Deaths:
170,484
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652,539
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5,415 more deaths higher than previous 24 hours
USA total deaths for yesterday gone up again to 1,939 making the total to 42,514. Total infected cases moved up to 792,759 with 28,123 new cases identified yesterday.
Spain crosses 200,000 infection mark with 1,536 new cases identified.
France had 547 more deaths while Italy and UK had 400+ deaths.
Meanwhile total cases in Africa increased to 24,171 with total death count of 1,164.
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AFP – Here are the latest developments from Asia related to the novel coronavirus pandemic
– Japan cases top 10,000 with hospitals stretched –
Japanese medics are warning more must be done to prevent the coronavirus from overwhelming the country’s healthcare system, as confirmed cases passed 10,000 despite a nationwide state of emergency.
Experts have been alarmed by a recent spike in coronavirus infections, with hundreds detected daily.
Kentaro Iwata, a professor of infectious diseases at Kobe University who has repeatedly criticised Japan’s response to the pandemic, warned he is “pessimistic” the postponed Olympics can be held even in 2021.
– Tale of two cities: Singapore faces record surge, HK reports zero cases –
Asia’s rival financial hubs, Singapore and Hong Kong, are facing markedly different fortunes as they battle the virus.
Hong Kong said it detected no confirmed COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours — its first daily tally of zero since March 5.
But the Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore reported a record jump of 1,426 virus cases, taking its total to 8,014 including 11 deaths. More infections were detected in dormitories housing foreign workers.
– New Zealand to ease virus lockdown next week –
New Zealand will ease a nationwide lockdown next week after claiming success in stopping “an uncontrolled explosion” of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.
“We have done what very few countries have been able to do,” Ardern said. “We have stopped a wave of devastation.”
The country has been one of the most successful in containing the virus, with around 1,100 known cases among the five-million population, including 12 deaths and 974 recovered patients.
– India eases curbs for some sectors –
India eased a weeks-long virus lockdown for the agriculture and manufacturing sectors to support the economy, but many said they were struggling to restart their operations.
Rural workers have been particularly hard hit by the lockdown which started in late March, and is now set to go on until early May.
The government said it would also convert part of the country’s surplus rice harvest to ethanol for the production of alcohol-based hand sanitisers, in an effort to address shortages.
– Schools to re-open in China epicentre –
Final-year high school students in the province at the epicentre of China’s virus outbreak will return to classrooms from May 6, officials said — the latest easing of restrictions as the country’s domestic outbreak is brought under control.
Schools have been closed in Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province since January, when lockdown measures were brought in to try and contain the spread of the virus.
– Japan’s ANA slashes profit forecast –
Japanese airline ANA Holdings slashed its annual net profit forecast by 71 percent over massive declines in demand and major cancellations caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
For the past fiscal year to March 2020, the firm said it now expects a net profit of 27 billion yen ($251 million), down from an earlier projection of 94 billion yen.
– Macau gambles on shift away from casinos –
Macau’s new leader used his first policy address to say the virus had reinforced the city’s determination to become less reliant on gambling.
Ho Iat-seng, a Beijing loyalist, said he wanted to diversify the economy away from the city’s lucrative entertainment sector, which has taken a hit due to virus-linked closures.
– Virus wipes away Afghan toilet-paper maker’s expansion plan –
Afghan toilet paper entrepreneur Zuhal Atmar overcame patriarchy and security threats to build a business that was set to go global due to a coronavirus-induced shortage.
But then, the supply of her key raw material — trash — dried up.
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a lockdown in Kabul, forcing scavengers off the streets and slashing access to the waste paper and cardboard which Atmar recycles into pink-and-white toilet roll.
– Sri Lanka delays polls to June –
Sri Lanka rescheduled to June 20 parliamentary elections already delayed by the pandemic.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in early March called a snap election for April 25, but the Election Commission later that month put off the polls indefinitely, depending on how quickly the virus could be tackled.
Sri Lanka on Monday removed a 24-hour curfew in many districts, leaving it enforced only at night because of progress containing the viral spread, the president’s office said.
New coronavirus has infected 305 people and killed seven in Sri Lanka, the government says.
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ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has confirmed two new Coronavirus cases in Borelasgamuwa and Piliyandala during an extended curfew imposed to find infected persons who had missed a contact tracing process with an older index case from March 12 having infected dozens of persons.
On April 20, two persons had been found in Piliyandala and Borelasgamuwa in addition to over two dozen confirmed from Bandaranaika Pura, relating an index patient who had returned from April 12 and had turned up in hospital on April during flush-out curfews.
On April 20, 32 new cases were found, the highest in a single day.
So far 32 cases had been confirmed from the patient that had arrived from India on March 12. On April 20, a patient each had been found in Piliyandala and Boralesgamuwa, Sri Lanka’s Army Chief General Shavendra Silva.
“The person from Borelasgamuwa had gone to a private hosptial in the Kottawa area,” he said. “The hospital had been closed.
“He goes to this place three times a week for treatment.” “A patient we already know, patient 114 had gone to this place on 24 and 26 dates. This person had gone on 23 and 25 this person had gone.
“There is a suspicion whether he got infected from there. But the dispensary and the people had been found and quarantined.”
The contacts of the person found in Pilyandala had also been found and sent for quarantine, he said.
The military had taken 260 persons connected to the March 12 returnee to Kandakadu quarantine centre.
By 1130hours on April 21, 303 persons had been confirmed.
Sri Lanka extended curfews in Colombo to April 27, delaying the ending of flush-out curfews in Colombo.
The flush-out curfews had been imposed for people who the contact tracers had missed to develop the disease and come to hospital.
However the discovery of a large number of asymptomatic persons had shown the need for a more active random or voluntary testing, observers say. (Colombo/Apr21/2020)
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Coronavirus Cases:
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6,975 more deaths higher than previous 24 hours
USA recorded 2,804 more deaths close to its highest per day recording 45,318 total fatalities. USA also surpass the 800,000 total cases having identified 25,985 new cases.
UK's death count has increased pass 800 again with over 17,000 total deaths.
Italy and France continue the high number of deaths having 500+ fatalities
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ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s contact tracers are hunting contacts of a fish-vendor flushed out during a month long curfews centered isolated nearly a 1000 linked to a pilgrim who returned from India, while a private hospital had been closed in another case, officials said.
By 0600h on April 21, Sri Lanka had confirmed 310 cases, 102 had recovered and 7 had died. Hospitals were treating 201 cases.
Vietnam, probably the global leader in the fight against Coronavirus, had reported the fifth day with zero new cases.
Vietnam had found 268 patients, 216 had recovered and none had died by April 22. Old patients had been brought back from near death in the country with the use of ECMO machines.
The fish vendor from Piliyandala was found during flush-out curfews imposed to pounce on cases that contact tracers missed due to delays in quarantining arrivals from third countries that did not quarantine arrivals from China and had uncontrolled community transmission.
The vendor had visited a wholesale fish market, which was initially ordered to be closed.
“We asked that the wholesale fish market be opened today (April 22) so that people would come and we can take swabs to test,” Anil Jasinghe, the head of Sri Lanka’s Health Service told Sri Lanka’s privately owned Derana Television.
Sri Lanka’s military chief said the shops in the wholesale market that the fish vendor had visited had been identified and PCR tests would be done.
About 23 contacts of the fish vendor had been taken to a quarantine centre in Welisara.
It is not clear how the fish vendor got first infected though there had been reports that he had contact with a foreign returnee.
Under Sri Lanka’s current contact tracing regime low cost voluntary testing is banned, which observers say is a serious drawback in discovering asymptomatic persons.
Sri Lanka’s current contact tracing framework is still solely dependent on symptomatic cases turning up.
On April 21, 1,108 persons were taken to quarantine including foreign returnees who came on a rescue flight from Pakistan. The aircraft had students and military officers who had gone for training in Pakistan.
They were being quarantined at the Army, Navy and Air Force quarantine centres depending on their service.
Nearly 1,000 persons linked to a pilgrim who had returned from India, residing in Bandaranaike Pura in Colombo now been quarantined.
A barber in the area had carried out his business during curfew helping spread the disease to nearby ‘wathu’ or highly congested residential area.
In a 15 perch area over 60 families involving over 200 persons lived in the area, authorities said. A barber in the sector may have helped spread the disease further.
“This barber had cut the hair of people in nearby ‘wathu’, ” Jasinghe said.”This barber was confirmed with Covid-19. Whatever lockdowns we do, it clear that people move here and there to nearby ‘Wathu’.
In Bandaranaike Pura, a 975 people from ‘166 wath-ther’ , 137 wath-ther and 107 wath-ther had been taken to quarantine in Army and Air Force quarantine camps in the North.
Swabs had been taken from several before being taken to the north.
Sri Lanka had also confirmed a patient who visited a private hospital in Kottawa regularly.
Sri Lanka’s military chief Shavendra Silva said the private hospital had been closed and staff and doctors testing samples had been taken.
The results are expected later on April 22. (SB-Colombo/Apr22/2020)
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ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka imposed conditions on businesses that are open to ensure social distancing limiting the number of people who can travel in a three-wheeler to two, closing barber shops and encouraging eateries to offer only take out.
Some media reports have said that a barber was among those found infected with the disease although the Health Department has not confirmed this as yet.
In a video press release Director-General Health Services Dr Anil Jasinghe said COVID 19 will “be here for a while among us and we must not give up the good habits we have learned in these past few weeks.”
“We must practice social distancing, wash our hands frequently and avoid crowded places,” he said on April 22.
He said that Public Health Officials will inspect eateries, cafes and restaurants and anyone not following hygienic practices would be closed down.
“We are asking that the smaller food shops and kiosks that are found near hospitals be closed immediately,” he said.
He also said the department will conduct random testing for the COVID 19 virus in the densely populated underserved areas of the capital Colombo to detect any infected persons.
He added that the Health Department of the Colombo Municipality and the Ministry of Health would jointly carry out this operation.
All Colombo Municipal workers will also be tested at whatever sites they are working at.
The move comes in the wake of a total of 55 COVID 19 positive patients being detected in the neighbourhood called Roti Kade Watte in the Bandaranayake Mawatha area in Kotehena.
A total of 1,010 residents of this area are now quarantined.
These neighborhoods called “Wattes” or gardens are densely populated with several families with kinship ties living close to each other.
Jasinghe said 12 new patients were found today with 11 detected at the Punani Quarantine centre who are all residents of the Beruwela area. The 12th patient was a person receiving treatment at the Polonnaruwa Base Hospital.
Following up on the discovery of a fishmonger who was infected by COVID 19 yesterday health officials conducted 530 PCR tests at the Peliyagoda main fish market today. Jasinghe said this is the highest number of tests done in a single location in Sri Lanka for the virus.
He went on to say that today the department conducted 62 tests on the staff of a private hospital in Pannipitiya where two patients were found yesterday and all the tests have come back negative.
The COVID patients found in the Punani Quarantine centre have been moved to the Kathankudy Treatment centre where some 30 of them are warded, he said. (Colombo April 14, 2020)
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Coronavirus Cases:
2,637,911
Deaths:
184,235
Recovered:
717,831
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5,166 more deaths lower than previous 24 hours
USA death toll reduces to 2,341 compared to yesterday however see a continuation of rapid spread with identification of 29,973 new cases totaling to 848,717 total cases.
UKs total deaths exceeded 18,000 with 763 more deaths.
France recorded 544 deaths while Spain & Italy had 400+ more deaths.
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Coronavirus Cases:
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Deaths:
190,654
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745,620
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6,419 more deaths again higher than previous 24 hours
USA continue to suffer with 2,000+ deaths having 2,325 more deaths taking the total count there to 49,845 just below 50,000. USA had 31,487 new cases taking the total count to 880,204.
New deaths in UK reduces to 638 however France's increased to 516.
Italy, Spain & Brazil had 400+ deaths where Brazil's count of 407 has been the highest per day so far.
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ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has had the biggest surge in new COVID 19 cases since the outbreak today April 23, after 30 Navy personnel at the huge Welisara camp were confirmed as having contracted the virus.
Along with other cases detected at various quarantine centres the total number of cases reported today is 38 taking the total to 368 since the outbreak.
The Army Chief Lt General Shavendra Silva said in a video press release this evening that the Welisara camp had been isolated after a sailor who was on leave in Polonnaruwa was diagnosed with the virus.
Thereafter the barracks he was living in was quarantined and all the sailors there were tested.
“We now have 30 sailors including the person detected at Polonnaruwa who are confirmed as COVID 19 patients,” Silva said.
He said that all personnel who have had contact with these 30 sailors are now being tested and Navy personnel from the camp who are on leave have been ordered to report to duty.
He says that the sailor found in Polonnaruwa had been infected by another sailor who was in the same barracks.
The Army Chief said that the sailors had contracted the virus when they had gone to the Suduwella area in Ja-ela to take into quarantine a group of alleged drug addicts who were suspected to have contracted the disease and had escaped from the authorities.
“He was infected doing his duty,” the Commander said.
The previous highest in a single day was 33 cases detected on April 20. This was nearly double the highest recorded before which was 17 cases on April 19.
The surge in cases comes as the government is looking to lift curfews and ease lockdowns to get the stalled economy moving again.
The government is also keen to achieve a level of normalcy before Parliamentary General Elections are held on June 20. The poll, originally slated for May 28 has been postponed.
Testing rates have increased in the past week with 43 centres identified as being capable of conducting the PCR tests around the island.
On Wednesday officials conducted 530 tests at the country’s main fish market after a fishmonger tested positive. (Colombo, April 23, 2020)
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ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has locked down a Navy camp and home village of a sailor after a surge of infections at a barracks where sailors involved in quarantine work had seen a surge, officials said as a think tank called for voluntary testing of high risk groups.
“We believe the sailors had got infected after they worked in Suduwella to quarantine contacts of a person,’ Sri Lanka’s Army Chief Shavenda Silva told privately owned Derana TV.
“We have isolated the Welisara camp.”
The cluster was discovered a after a sailor who went on leave to Lankapura in Polonnaruwa developed symptoms and reported to a Welikanda hospital.
Authorities had also locked down the sailors home village in Lankapura and isolated his contacts.
Sri Lanka is keeping testing tight and has not allowed voluntary testing of high risk persons.
Authorities had found 29 infected persons so far among companions of the Lankapura sailor of which only two were symptomatic.
The cluster was discovered because the sailor who went home developed symptoms as a Colombo-based think tank called for a relaxation of a current ban on voluntary tests and testing of high risk groups who do not show symptoms including quarantine workers.
That not testing workers involved in quarantine was a gap that had already been indentified in a explainer on that compared Vietnam’s Coronavirus battle with Sri Lanka.
“Nor are quarantine workers or medical workers tested frequently,” the explainer said.
While curfews will limit clusters, once it is lifted, the chance of the disease spreading increases, and random and voluntary testing is vital, the think tank said.
“Voluntary testing, random testing of people in high-risk areas will increase the chance of asymptomatic index cases and members of clusters being discovered,” Advocata Institute said in a statement.
“Once curfew is lifted, the front office staff of any institution including airports, quarantine workers, cleaning staff, people working in economic centres, and drivers may be exposed to higher risks.”
Any individual who feel he was at risk by going to a high risk location, waiting in line at a pharmacy or wants to visit an elderly relative may want a voluntary test.
“They should have an opportunity to get a PCR test at his or her own expense, preferably through a drive-through system,” the think tank pointed out.
The so-called Suduwella cluster also flushed out during curfews after a person was admitted to hospital following an incident.
Sri Lanka’s Coronavirus cases surged to 368 by 2120hours on April 23 according to health ministry data.
An infected fish-monger was also flushed out in Piliyandala during curfew.
Authorities carried out random tests in a fish market on April 23.
Head of Sri Lanka’s Health Service Anil Jasinghe said they were negative.
“This is a relief,” he said.
It is not clear whether the workers in the fish market would be be tested again or whether they will be isolated.
A contact can develop the disease up to 14 days or more later.
In Vietnam, the global leader in fighting Coronavirus the entire fish market would have been quarantine for two weeks and each person tested at least twice, those familiar with the process in Vietnam say.
Vietnam locked down and tested entire neighourhoods, villages and small towns painstakingly paying people a per diem
On April 23, Prime Minister said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said, except for some districts of Hanoi, Ha Giang and Bac Ninh people in other districts could go out and engage in normal activities subject to wearing masks and exercising car.
In Ha Giang a Hmong tribal girl got the disease after her brother had returned from China walking over the border. The brother was negative but she was positive.
Authorities locked down the village and nearby villages and are paying everyone a per diem.
The ending of ‘social isolation’ (read stay at home) did not end social distancing, the health ministry said. (Colombo/Apr24/2020)
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ECOMOMYNEXT – Thirty more Sri Lanka Navy personnel in the Welisara Navy camp have tested positive for COVID 19 bringing the total in the facility to sixty, Army Commander Lt Gen Shavendra Silva said.
Eleven more patients in quarantine have been detected today bringing the total number of COVID 19 patients in Sri Lanka to 409
Along with this discovery thousands of Navy personnel and their families went into lockdown at the huge base as well as at Navy-run Quarantine centres, Silva said.
The massive base houses some 4,000 people who are all in lockdown since yesterday
He said that PCR tests conducted today on Navy Personnel in the camp by Navy Medics as well as Health Department personnel had covered hundreds of individuals.
The huge outbreak, the biggest in a single location, is being traced to a Navy operation to round up a group of alleged drug addicts in the Suduwella area of Ja-Ela who were connected to a COVID 19 patient.
Silva in a video press release said that the first Navy Sailor detected as being COVID positive was discovered when he went on leave to his hometown of Polonnaruwa.
Other reports that the sailor had used multiple means of transport, including a vegetable transport truck, a three-wheeler and a motorbike to reach home.
There he had been visiting with friends and family.
The Army Chief said that all the Navy Personnel who had been on leave have been recalled and the relatives they had been living with have been sent to quarantine centres set up by the Navy.
He said that in some of the areas where the Navy personnel had been living while on leave some local resident had staged protests.
He assured those residents that by now the personnel concerned and their relatives have been removed to quarantine. (Colombo, April 24, 2020)
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Coronavirus Cases:
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6,591 more deaths again higher than previous 24 hours
USA reported its highest per day new cases yesterday with 38,764 being identified. This has happened in a context where USA president is dreaming on opening up the economy going against the warnings of health authorities and indicating the future consequences will be much more worse if he do so in very near term. USA now has 925,038 total cases with total death count of 52,185.
Ecuador has reported a sudden rise with the identification of 11,536 new cases growing their total count by 100%.
Spain, UK & Russia have seen their daily counts increasing during last 24 hours.
UK reported 768 more fatalities while Italy had 420. Spain and France have less than 400 new deaths lessor than previous 24 hours.
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ECONOMYNEXT – Navy sailors on home leave have tested positive for the coronavirus in five different localities which had hitherto not seen any patients, as the number of patients found infected hit a new high today April 24.
A government press release said a total of 47 new COVID 19 patients were detected today, 11 are from the Bandaranayake Mawatha area in the Kotehena area of Colombo who were in quarantine taking the total to 415.
Thirty are from the Welisara Navy camp where thirty others were detected yesterday.
Five others are Navy men who were on holiday in their home towns. They were found in Ratnapura Hidilla Kanda area, Kurunegala Polgahawela area, Kurunegala Keeniypola area, Badulla Girandurukotte area and Kandy Dambulla Athabodhiwewa area.
The last patient is a pregnant woman from Maradana in Colombo and admitted to the De Soysa Maternity Home in Colombo, where she reportedly lost her baby.
She has since been admitted to the Mulleriyawa hospital.
This is the biggest surge in patients since the outbreak, surpassing yesterday which saw 38 new patients which included the 30 Navy Sailors.
Travel between districts particularly the areas considered high-risk and the rest of the country has been banned.
These sailors who had gone home to Kurunegala, Kandy, Badulla and Ratnapura had clearly broken the ban. (Colombo, April 24, 2020)
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ECONOMYNEXT – The islandwide curfew will be lifted on Monday, April 27 at 5.00 am Police Headquarters announced with conditions imposed on inter-district travel.
In a media statement issued at 1.25 am this morning April 25, the police said travel in and out of the areas deemed high-risk districts, Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Puttalam is banned.
There is no mention of the time the curfews are being re-imposed.
The surprising move came as three more confirmed cases were reported this morning.
Yesterday had the highest single-day surge in COVID 19 cases in Sri Lanka since the outbreak.
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ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has not taken decision to allow private sector labs to conduct Coronavirus tests officials said, while a philosophy against voluntary or precautionary community screening of those at risk had also not changed according to what health official say.
Sri Lanka had had discussion with private hospitals about using their capacity to expand testing, the head of Sri Lanka’s Health Service Anil Jasinghe said on Friday but no decision was taken to allow them to conduct tests.
“We had a discussion with private hospitals about using their capacity for tests in case we need it,” Jasinghe told a domestic television station.
“But the higher education ministry (which has universities with labs) had offered their PCR machines which will expand capacity.”
Sri Lanka initially wanted all symptomatic patients to turn up in state hospitals, which observers agree is a good strategy.
Private hospitals were allowed to test, provided the patient was admitted. However there are no drive-in tests for aymptomatic persons working in high risk areas.
As long as curfews are in place, contact tracers could passively wait for symptomatic persons to turn up.
The person from Suduwella and Colombo’s Bandaranaike Pura tuned up during curfew.
Zero Community Screening
But when curfews are lifted under the current strategy private sector companies would have to operate without the ability to test drivers, cleaning staff and any other workers who meet many people who wanted to cut risks.
Advocata Institute, a Colombo-based think tank, had asked authorities to allow persons in high risk areas to be get a test, as there was zero chance of an asymptomatic person who is not linked to a known index case from being discovered by authorities.
The current plan discovering new patients is too dependent on symptomatic patients turning up in hospital, and there was zero change of asymptomatic persons in high risk areas being discovered the think tank pointed out.
“The current contact tracing strategy has a serious flaw in that it is too dependent on symptomatic cases and there is no way to detect an infected index case that is asymptomatic,” the think tank said.
“Voluntary testing, random testing of people in high-risk areas will increase the chance of asymptomatic index cases and members of clusters being discovered.
“Once curfew is lifted, the front office staff of any institution including airports, quarantine workers, cleaning staff, people working in economic centres, and drivers may be exposed to higher risks.
“Those in driving/delivery related jobs, in particular, would also be in a position to spread the disease faster and to a greater area.”
This week Sri Lanka was shaken a large cluster developed at a Navy base among sailors involved in quarantine work who were not screened under the current testing philosophy.
One of the sailors who was on leave had travelled to many areas, jumping on food trucks in some cases, authorities said. The sailor was discovered because he developed symptoms and went to hospital.
His un-screened colleagues were not symptomatic up to that point. On the first day they were screened 29 turned up positive.
Anti-Screening Philosophy
A senior health official in the state testing system said that even for a blood test to be conducted when there is an ‘indication’ and cannot be just taken because a patient wanted it.
“You cannot conduct a PCR test because you think there is a risk,” he said explaining the philosophy of the health officials behind their opposition to precautionary tests.
“There has to be an indication like a symptom or a link with some person to conduct a test. You can’t conduct a blood, or a sugar test just because you want it.”
However those calling for testing of high risk persons are doing so on the grounds of probability and an assumption that no one is infallible in tracing contacts and there could be a few persons out there with the disease, perhaps.
If curfews are lifted they would no longer be any protection from spreading, and persons who meet many people on different locations could get infected and become carriers.
“That it just fear,” the health official said. “That is not science. You cannot ask for a test based on fear. We do not conduct tests like some other country. We may also change what the WHO says.”
Observers say there could be a weak understanding of probability among medical professionals.
A community screening of high risk areas would raise the chance of discovering asymptomatic persons from the current zero to a positive number.
Diagnostic vs Screening
Senior health officials had earlier said on television they were opposed to a PCR test being used for ‘screening’ because it was a ‘diagnostic’ test by definition.
Unlike Vietnam, Sri Lanka did not initially test contacts of index cases (to discover whether the next level and been infected and act fast to isolate the next two levels) or those that were released from quarantine.
Sri Lanka Coronavirus contact tracing gaps plugged as incubation of SARS-Cov-2 suspected to top 20 days
Senior health officials had earlier said on television they were opposed to a PCR test being used for ‘screening’ because it was a ‘diagnostic’ test by definition.
The strategy had since been changed and now contacts and released persons are tested.
At the moment only PCR tests are the only available remedy for ‘screening’, with blood tests for antibodies, especially those made in China being shown to be unreliable in many countries and returned.
The anti-test community screening philosophy seemed to be based on a belief that there could be no infected persons that the contact tracers missed.
PCR tests also have the advantage of being showing virus genes before anti-bodies develop, according to medical professionals.
Vietnam, the most successful country in containing the epidemic had widely used PCR tests for screening.
Vietnam authorities had also used PCR tests on discharged patients and found that they also run the risk of turning positive.
On April 25, Vietnam went on a renewed community testing drive after the discovery of two new cases, after the lapse of 08 days. Like airline passengers inter-district truck drivers are also required to take tests. (Colombo/April25/2020)
- The Invisible
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Re: Coronavirus Updates
ECONOMYNEXT – Twenty new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in Sri Lanka today, moving the total up to 440, the Ministry of Health said.
Health Services Director General Dr Anil Jasinghe speaking earlier in the evening broke down 13 of today’s cases as follows:
Seven from Bandaranaikepura quarantined in Kandakadu
A 12-year-old boy also from Bandaranaikepura
Four sailors from the Welisara naval base
One sailor receiving treatment at the Monaragala hospital
Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 presidential task force director Army Commander Lt Gen Shavendra Silva said 2,910 people are currently in quarantine. Some 4,485 have completed their quarantine and sent home. Of these, 156 were sent home yesterday and today.
Meanwhile, a group of Sri Lankan students in India were flown to the country today aboard a SriLankan Airlines flight and sent immediately to a quarantine facility run by the army.
Silva said the quarantine centre at Zahira College was disinfected and returned to the school, following the competition of quarantine of its 82 inhabitants.
Jasinghe told reporters not to be alarmed by the number of cases reported out of the Welisara navy camp as it is a more “disciplined and organised group of people” than others.
“We should be able to bring the situation under control,” he said.
Almost all of the patients who had gone home on leave have been recalled and contact tracing is underway, he added.
“In the clusters identified in Beruwala, Atalugama, Puttalm, Akrurana, Jaffna, Negombo and Ratnapura, many patients were reported earlier. A lot in some, but no more cases have been reported in those clusters,” said Jasinghe.
“Even though the number has increased, we hope to keep the situation under control to the best of our strength,” he added. (Colombo/Apr25/2020)
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Re: Coronavirus Updates
ECONOMYNEXT – The government has issued new guidelines for businesses to open in the high-risk areas of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Puttalam districts from May 4, a Media Release from the Presidential Secretariat said.
All institutions, government and private are expected to resume work from May 4 under strict guidelines the announcement said to ensure social distancing and other precautions to avoid the spread of COVID 19.
Accordingly curfew rules are being relaxed to accommodate them.
Government departments, Corporations, other statutory bodies as well as private sector manufacturing, construction, all offices, vegetable, fish and all retail outlets are given permission to operate from May 4.
All heads of institutions should plan out their work and scheduling of staff in the coming week, the statement said.
Offices are expected to open at 10 am each day and the government advises all institutions to bring only one-third of staff to office on each day. The other staff is advised to work from home if possible.
The management can decide to rotate the staff coming to work if it wishes to do so.
The government has also introduced regulations to limit the number of people who will come on to the street during the time the curfew is lifted to prevent the spread of the COVID 19 virus.
Only people who are going to work should use public transport. All others should stay at home.
Only those who need to purchase essential items or medicinal drugs should go out of their homes and should be going only a walking distance from their residences.
Permission to leave their homes will be granted depending on the last digit of the National Identity Card numbers, the statement said.
The schedule is as follows:
Mondays – Those whose ID Number ends with 1 or 2
Tuesdays – Those whose ID Number ends with 3 or 4
Wednesdays – Those whose ID Number ends with 5 or 6
Thursdays – Those whose ID Number ends with 7 or 8
Fridays – Those whose ID Number ends with 9 or 0
The government has banned all gatherings, whether they are of a religious nature, celebrations, recreational trips, processions and any event that brings people together to prevent the spread of COVID 19.
Schools, universities and private tuition establishments are closed until further notice. (Colombo, April 25, 2020)