COLOMBO – Sri Lanka recorded its 36th COVID-19 related death on Monday (8), an 84-year-old woman from Kandana, as 356 new cases were reported, all of them linked to the Peliyagoda cluster, taking Sri Lanka’s novel coronavirus count to 14,285.
The Government Department of Information, in a statement announcing the death, said the deceased who had been suffering from chronic illnesses, had died shortly after being transferred to the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) from a private hospital. However, the immediate cause of death was determined to be COVID-pneumonia.
The Director General of Health Services has confirmed the death to be the 36th COVID-19 fatality reported in Sri Lanka.
Twenty one 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 Monday, the Minuwangoda/Peliyagoda cluster had recorded 10,803 cases with 356 testing positive for the virus during the course of the day.
Health Authorities on Monday lifted the 10-day quarantine curfew imposed on the Western but locked down 22 police divisions and strictly isolated several apartment complexes deeming them high risk areas. Mid Monday, Kandana and Mahabage police division in the Gampaha district and North and South Angulana Grama Niladari divisions in the Colombo suburb were added to the list. Army Commander Lt. General Shavendra Silva said the areas would remain under isolation until further notice.
Several areas in the Sabaragamuwa and Northwestern Provinces were released from isolation, though high risk pockets in both provinces remained under lockdown.
Meanwhile in a tragic development, two individuals, a 72-year-old woman from Ja-Ela, and 56-year-old man from Agalawatta, were reported to have committed suicide due to coronavirus fears.
The woman is said to have taken her life after her daughter and son-in-law were confirmed as COVID-19 positive, while the man, a father to two who is said to have worked as a private bus driver attached to the Nagoda hospital, is believed to have taken his life after being told one of his passengers had tested positive for the virus. Police are investigating both deaths.
.-ENCL