COVID-19 infected cases continued to rise over the weekend, surpassing the 2,600 mark with 104 persons testing positive yesterday.
Among those who tested positive yesterday, 94 were from the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Centre cluster, 76 from the Senapura Rehabilitation Centre (transferred from the Kandakadu centre), and 14 of their close contacts. Seven returnees from Belarus and Iran, two from Bangladesh and one from UAE also tested positive for the virus yesterday.
According to the Health Ministry, the 94 who tested positive from the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Centre brought the total number of those infected from that cluster to 477. A total of 57 persons tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the weekend total to 158.
Following the new outbreak of COVID-19 in Rajanganaya on Saturday, the District Secretariat in Anuradhapura yesterday announced that casting of postal votes in Rajanganaya Divisional Secretariat will be postponed and a new date will be informed by the Election Commission (EC).
According to the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry, the total number of confirmed cases has risen to 2,615. The number of patients who recovered and were discharged from care remain at 1,981 while 620 patients remain in care and 11 have succumbed to the virus.
Sri Lanka had reached a COVID-19 recovery rate of 90.17%, however, the recovery rate has dropped to 76.1%, the Health Promotion Bureau data showed.
A total of 99 suspected COVID-19 patients remain under close observation of health authorities.
According to Health Services Director General Dr. Anil Jasinghe, 12 close contacts of an infected instructor from the Kandakadu centre were identified after 52 were tested last weekend, and 70 children were moved in to quarantine centres after being subjected to PCR tests for COVID-19 after two classmates tested positive for the virus.
The National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) did not release information regarding those in quarantine or the number who were released from the centres yesterday.
(FT)