Sri Lanka COVID-19 toll crosses the 20,000 mark
As 391 new case and four more deaths reported
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s novel coronavirus tally reached a grim milestone on Sunday (22) surpassing the 20,000 mark with 391 new cases confirmed as COVID-19 positive. Sunday also saw four more deaths, taking the COVID-fatality tally to 87.
The confirmation take Sri Lanka’s novel coronavirus count to 20,171 with 14,069 being deemed recovered and discharged under the new health ministry guidelines that don’t require multiple PCR tests, and 6,015 receiving treatment at various designated hospitals across the country.
The Department of Government Information said all 391 cases confirmed on Sunday are linked to Minuwangoda/Peliyagoda cluster, which has now expanded to 16,643 cases.
Sri Lanka also recorded four more COVID-19 related fatalities Sunday, all of them from Colombo, two of them dying on admission to the National Hospital Colombo, the third at home and the fourth at the Intensive Care Unit at the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Angoda. Sunday’s fatalities follow a massive spike, which saw nine COVID-related deaths, the highest so far in Sri Lanka, on Saturday (21), all of them from Colombo and the immediate suburbs.
The Department in a statement announcing the multiple deaths on Sunday, identified the deceased as two males aged 53 and 75 from Colombo 12 and Colombo 10, and two females aged 70 and 84, from Colombo 15 and Colombo 8.
The statement said of the two males, the 53-year-old had died on admission to the National Hospital Colombo, while the 75-year old had been transferred to the IDH from the National Hospital Colombo upon being confirmed as COVID-19 positive. Cause of death in the former was determined to be lung infection complicated by COVID-infection, while in the latter it was COVID-related pneumonia.
Of the two females, the statement said the 70-year-old had died on admission to the National Hospital Colombo, while the 84-year-old had died at home. The cause of death in both cases had been determined to be COVID-related pneumonia.
The statement said Director General of Health Services, Dr. Asela Gunawardena, had confirmed all four deaths to be COVID-19 related, taking the COVID fatality count to 87.
Seventy four deaths have now been officially recorded since October 24, many of them at home and several on admission to the National Hospital Colombo, since 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.
In related development, the National Operations Centre for the Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) announced on Sunday the isolation order placed on the Police Divisions of Borella Wellampitiya, Colombo Fort, Slave Island in the Colombo district, will be lifted from 5:00 a.m. Monday (23), but said 13 Police Divisions in the district will continue to remain under isolation until further notice. The divisions include Mattakkuliya, Modara, Bloemendhal, Kotahena, Grandpass , Fore Shore, Wolfendhal Street, Maligawatta, Dematagoda, Keselwatta, Maradana , Pettah and Dam Street.
In the Gampaha district, NOCPCO said the isolation order on Ja-Ela and Kadawatha would be lifted at 5: a.m. Monday, but Negombo, Ragama, Wattala, Peliyagoda and Kelaniya will remain under isolation until further notice.
Meanwhile, several areas in the Kalutara district were placed under isolation with immediate effect on Sunday. These include Grama Niladhari Divisoins of Bogahawatta, Bamunumulla (Muslim), Kirimanthudawa, Korawala, Atalugama West, Bamunumulla and Galagahamandiya.
-ENCL