LNP – Kandakadu fears baseless – Health DG

Rumours being spread that Covid-19 infected persons of the Kandakadu cluster have been reported from various parts of the island are baseless, Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe said yesterday.

He said that if an infected person is actually reported from anywhere in the country, it will be announced by the authorities without any delay.

Dr. Jasinghe was speaking to the media at the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) yesterday.

“Only a person found positive through a PCR test is considered to be a Covid-19 infected person. Recalling the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Center staff from their residents or the Welikada Prison inmates does not mean they are already infected,” he stressed. According to Dr. Jasinghe, the identification of the infected and their close associates and the process of quarantine from the Kandakadu new cluster are successful. Therefore, there is no danger of the contagion spreading throughout the country as a second wave.

In fact, the Kandakadu COVID-19 cluster can be controlled quicker than the Navy cluster, Dr. Jasinghe said. According to Dr. Jasinghe, this latest COVID-19 cluster from Kandakadu will not drag on for months like the Navy cluster. “The Kandakadu cluster can be controlled within a shorter period of time. More COVID-19 patients will appear in the next few days from this cluster from various areas,” he said.

Dr. Jasinghe pointed out quarantine is the best and most powerful weapon available at the moment in the world against COVID-19. Therefore, all required individuals need to be quarantined for 14 days at a quarantine centre and then for another 14 days at home.

Dr. Jasinghe stressed that any suspected COVID-19 persons can be released after the required full quarantine period at a quarantine centre and another 14 day quarantine period spent at home even without performing a PCR Test but there is no way of releasing any suspected COVID-19 infected person only with a negative PCR Test result.

“All people and all state and private sector institutions should strictly follow all health guidelines and operational guidelines issued by the Government and the Health Ministry. The basic health guidelines are wearing a mask whenever going out from home, keeping at least one metre distance from another person all the time, washing hands with soap and water for 30 seconds often and using a hand sanitizer whenever soap and water is not available,” Dr. Jasinghe added.

Meanwhile, the NOCPCO Head, Acting Chief of Defence Staff and the Army Commander Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva said so far a total of 492 have been identified as Covid-19 positive from the Kandakadu cluster. Of them 429 are inmates, 47 are staff members and 16 are their close associates.

Twenty five Coronavirus-positive cases have been reported in the country yesterday, the Ministry of Health confirmed. Reportedly, the latest cases have been identified from the Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre in East Kandakadu. The new cases have brought the total number of COVID-19 cases in Sri Lanka to 2,631. As per the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry, 639 active cases are under medical care at selected hospitals across the island. The count of recoveries in the country currently stands at 1,981 cases.