News
Coronavirus victims now ten; Govt. calls for public support
With ten Sri Lankans being affected by the new coronavirus up to last evening, many measures were implemented to meet the threat and mass gatherings were discouraged.
Health Services Director-General Dr. Anil Jasinghe gave details of those affected by the disease, as Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi sought public support at a media briefing last afternoon, in curbing the virus which has been rampaging across the world.
A National Incident Command Centre which gets activated tomorrow will bring together all stakeholders and all activities, announced Dr. Jasinghe, pointing out that it was not just a matter for the Health Ministry but many ministries and other institutions.
Among the patients are eight males and two females, it is learnt, with seven at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) and two at the Polonnaruwa and one at the Kurunegala Hospitals.
Of the seven patients who were at the NIID last evening, the first is the 52-year-old tour guide. The others include the second guide who came into contact with the first patient in the dormitory of a hotel; two who had returned from Italy and were being quarantined at the Kandakadu centre; one who had been travelling in Europe for two weeks and returned to the country; a female who had been in Italy and returned in early March; and a female relative of the second guide.
The other three patients affected by COVID-19 had also returned from Italy and were being quarantined at the Kandakadu centre.
When contacted by the Sunday Times, Consultant Physician Dr. Eranga Narangoda who is managing the NIID patients said that usually with COVID-19, 80% of those affected would have mild disease, 15% moderate to severe disease and 5% life-threatening disease.
While the patients under his management are having “mild” disease, the only exception is the first patient who falls into the 15% grouping which is “moderate to severe”. He is having bi-lateral pneumonia which has an impact on his lungs. Even though the symptoms have improved since admission to hospital, his lung signs are not normal yet. He does not have much of an appetite and is on a liquid diet, Dr. Narangoda said.
He added that even though there was much panic in a Colombo school about the first patient’s family being affected, so far they were not showing any symptoms. They are being quarantined at their home.
The Sunday Times understands that the first patient (tourist guide) had got symptoms of fever and cough when on one of his tours on March 2 and sought treatment from a doctor. He had been popping the tablets given by that doctor until severe disease gripped him and he had been admitted to the NIID on March 8.
In a development linked to a confirmed case of COVID-19, the Foreign Ministry said in a media release that on learning that one of the family members of a ministry officer was affected, it has taken a series of precautionary measures to avoid and minimise the risk of transmission of the virus. The officer has been self-quarantined since Friday.
“As an initial step, the staff who has come in direct contact with the officer during one working day earlier this week in Colombo and others in a European capital where the person was working two weeks ago, have been advised to ‘self quarantine’ themselves. Further action has been taken to disinfect the relevant areas of the ministry,” it said, adding that the ministry will continue to monitor and assess the situation. There are 103 suspected cases at several of the 18 designated hospitals, while there are 1,600-odd in quarantine centres.
Dr. Jasinghe who strongly urged that mass gatherings should not be held, said a two-week period would help the country “cool down”, as there has been no ‘community transmission’ as of yet and that those affected by COVID-19 have had an “Italian connection”.
Some Sri Lankans affected by COVID-19 had left Milan which is in lockdown surreptitiously, travelling 800 miles by vehicle and taken a flight out of Italy to Sri Lanka from elsewhere, swallowing paracetamol to keep their fever down, he said.
While Minister Wanniarachchi assured that police would not grant permits for mass gatherings, responding to the government’s appeal, the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka decided yesterday to desist from holding Sunday and daily masses with immediate effect until the end of March. With regard to testing for COVID-19, Dr. Jasinghe said on Friday that in addition to the Medical Research Institute (MRI), it is also now being done at the Kandy National Hospital, the Karapitiya and Anuradhapura Teaching Hospitals and the Sri Jayewardenepura University. No permission has yet been given to private hospitals to conduct the tests.
At a high-level meeting on Friday, of the National Task Force set up to tackle COVID-19, presided over by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and attended by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Western Province Governor Dr. Seetha Arambepola and several other officials, many measures had been discussed including disinfecting public transport and the use of internet for services and education.
| Chinese tourist keeps in touch with NIID staff The Chinese woman tourist who was the first ‘imported’ case of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka and went back to her home in China on February 26 after recovery, is doing fine and is in regular touch with the nursing staff who looked after her at the NIID, the Sunday Times understands. Their 14-year-old twin sons were being looked after elsewhere and the family was expected to reunite once the quarantine period was over this week. “Yes, she texts and has even sent a video clip of her apartment where they are in quarantine,” said a source.
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