Deputy Director General of Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath yesterday said that the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths is expected to decline after the next two weeks due to the effectiveness of the Quarantine Curfew.
The number of cases that are reported within the next few days will give an indication about the conduct of the people during the prevailing Quarantine Curfew and the future direction of the pandemic, Dr. Herath added. Public discipline and cooperation was vital to curb Covid, he pointed out.
He hoped that the number of Covid cases will see a decline as the Quarantine Curfew has been imposed very strictly by the Security Forces and the Police for the past 10 days with the objective of arresting the spread of the virus islandwide.
The Deputy Health Director General said that there should be proper guidelines for every sector of the economy and public life including public transport to prevent the spread of virus after the quarantine curfew is lifted. It is currently due to be lifted on September 6, but medical professionals’ associations have urged the Government to continue the lockdown for at least two more weeks to see more effective results. They say that at least 7,500 deaths can be prevented if the curfew/lockdown is continued until September 20, 2021. This goes up to 10,000 of the lockdown goes on until October 2.
Dr. Herath said that the respective authorities and heads of institutions should formulate a mechanism to ensure the safety of their work forces after the Quarantine Curfew is lifted at any given time.
“If such a proper mechanism is not in place, the spread of the virus cannot be controlled with the re-opening of the country,” he said.
Meanwhile, with 14,394 recoveries reported on Monday (30), the total number of COVID 19 recoveries in Sri Lanka increased to 371,992, the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry said. Health experts say this is a very good recovery rate.
As per the statistics of the Epidemiology Unit, the total number of Coronavirus cases increased up to 431,519 by yesterday evening and COVID-related fatalities increased to 8,775. Around 50,752 patients are still receiving treatment at hospitals and Intermediate Care Centres (ICCs). The Government has also bought down the required stocks of medical Oxygen for COVID ICU patients.
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