COLOMBO – Sri Lanka recorded two more COVID-19 related deaths on Tuesday (3), taking the fatality toll to 23, as 409 new cases were reported, a majority of them linked to the Peliyagoda fish market and fishery harbours in various parts of the country.
The two deaths recorded Tuesday were of two women aged 68 and 61 from Colombo, both of who had died in their residences on Sunday (Nov 1) and Monday (2) respectively. The Government Department of Information announcing the deaths said PCR tests conducted on the bodies of the two women had confirmed them to be COVID-19 positive.
In a statement issued earlier in the day, the department said the 68- year-old woman, identified as the 22nd COVID-19 fatality, had died at her house on Jampata Street in Colombo 13 on Sunday, with the immediate cause of death identified by the Judicial Medical Officer to be COVID pneumonia. The statement also said a family member of the deceased woman had been diagnosed as COVID-19 positive and other members were under home quarantine.
Post-mortem examination on the body of the 61-year-old woman, identified as the 23rd COVID-19 fatality, who died at her residence in Colombo 15 on Monday, had revealed she had been suffering from a fever, cough and throat infection. The Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health cited lung infections due to novel coronavirus as the cause of death.
The two deaths mark a steady spike in COVID related fatalities since the emergence of a new cluster in Minuwangoda with an extremely virulent strain of the virus in early October. Tuesday is the second instance where multiple deaths were recorded in a single day. Three deaths were recorded in a single day on October 27.
Meanwhile, 409 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Tuesday, taking Sri Lanka novel coronavirus toll to 11,744. The Government Department of Information, in its daily virus update at 10:00 p.m. said all but eight of the cases were directly linked to the Minuwangoda/Peliyagoda cluster, which has now expanded to 8,266.
The National Operation Centre for the Prevention of COVID-19 (NOCPOC) said, of Tuesday’s confirmed cases 56 are officers of the Special Task Force, noting that in total 183 police officers have tested positive for the virus. NOCPOC also said STF camps in Kalubowila, Kalaniya and Rajagiriya have been isolated with immediate effect until further notice.
The Department of Education in Isurupaya was also closed for disinfection on Tuesday, after identifying a staff member was confirmed as positive for COVD-19.
Separately, the NOCPOC on Tuesday introduced new hotlines and email contacts for the public to contact the Centre for urgent and important notifications / inquiries related to the COVID-19 virus. The hotlines are:
Duty Officer – 011 2860002, 011 2860003, 011 2860004 – E-mail – covid195120@gmail.com
Navy and Air Force Duty Officer – 011 4055932
Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health – 011 3688664 I O11 3030864
-ENCL