COLOMBO – Sri Lanka recorded yet another COVID-19 related death on Sunday (8), taking the fatality toll to 35, as 510 new cases were reported, a majority of them linked to the Peliyagoda fish market and fishery harbours in various parts of the country.
The death recorded Sunday was that of a 78-year-old male who had died on admission to hospital. The Government Department of Information, quoting the Director General of Health Services said a post-mortem had confirmed he was COVID-19 positive and determined the death to be caused by heart complications caused by the virus.
Twenty deaths have now been officially recorded since October 24, following the emergence of a new and more virulent strain of the virus in a new cluster in Minuwangoda, with the apparel factory in the area as the epicentre earlier in the month. Since then the cluster has seen sub-clusters in several parts of the country, with the largest case load reported from the Peliyagoda fish market. As of Sunday, the Minuwangoda cluster had recorded 10,447 cases with 510 testing positive for the virus during the course of the day.
Sunday’s confirmations take Sri Lanka’s novel coronavirus count to 13,928, with 8285 being deemed recovered and discharged under the new health ministry guidelines that don’t require multiple PCR tests, and 5,609 receiving treatment at various designated hospitals across the country.
-ENCL