COLOMBO – Sri Lanka recorded six more COVID-19 related fatalities on Wednesday (16), as the death toll reached 160 and the novel coronavirus tally increased to 34,737 with 611 new cases confirmed during the course of the day.
The Department of Government Information in two separate statements announcing the deaths, reported three fatalities on Wednesday morning and three more later in the day. The three deceased identified in the morning included a 60-year-old-female from Colombo-14 who had died at a private hospital in Colombo, and two males aged 85 and 84, both from Colombo 15. One had died at his residence, while the other had died on admission to the General Hospital Colombo. The cause of death in all three cases was identified as COVID-pneumonia.
The three deaths reported late Wednesday included two females aged 50 and 43 from Kolonnawa and Bandaragma, and a male aged 78 from Colombo 9. Both females had died at the Homagama Base hospital, the 50-year old from kidney failure and COVID-pneumonia and 43-year –old, of COVID-pneumonia, stroke due to blood poisoning and multiple organ failure.
The 78-year- old-male had died at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Colombo, of blood poisoning, multiple organ failure and COVID- pneumonia.
The statement said Director General of Health Services, Dr. Asela Gunawardena, had confirmed the the deaths to be COVID-19 related, taking the COVID fatality count to 160
One hundred and forty seven deaths have now been officially recorded since October 24, many of them at home and several on admission to hospitals, 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, including a prison cluster, with the largest case load reported from the Peliyagoda fish market.
Wednesday’s confirmations take Sri Lanka’s novel coronavirus count to 34,737with 25,652 being deemed recovered and discharged under the new health ministry guidelines, and 8,925 receiving treatment at various designated hospitals across the country.
The Department of Government Information said all 611 cases confirmed on Wednesday were linked to Peliyagoda/prison cluster, which has now expanded to 31,079 cases.
-ENCL