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Home » NewsOn the frontline of the Covid battle
Sri Lankan doctors and nurses at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) at Angoda are seen treating a patient warded with COVID-19, the virus that has gripped the whole world in a total lockdown. The NIID is currently attending to the majority of 132 patients now diagnosed with the virus.
Ban on import of more luxury items
The list of banned imported luxury items is to be expanded and the period of ban is to vary from three months to six months to stop a foreign exchange outflow of about US$ 500 million, the Government has decided. Selected luxury food items and ready-made garments will be among the items that will be [...]
Curfew relief likely; Govt. squashes complete lockdown rumour
The Government yesterday squashed what they called were “rumours that had gone viral” of a complete lockdown next week with no curfew passes issued, and announced that it would consider lifting the curfew in certain districts – but after the Avurudhu period. The announcement of a possible relaxation came following yesterday’s talks between President Gotabaya [...]
Lawyers warn new move violates money laundering laws
The Cabinet’s decision this week to suspend “all restrictions” on foreign currency inflows into Sri Lanka for three months will fall afoul of legislation governing suspicious monetary transactions that bind all financial institutions, lawyers have warned. The no-questions-asked policy contravenes statutory provisions, particularly enshrined in the Financial Transactions Reporting Act (FTRA) which is the main [...]
MiG deal suspect Udayanga gets bail on ‘extraordinary grounds’
Udayanga Weeratunga, onetime Sri Lanka Ambassador to Russia and allegedly involved in the embezzlement of state funds over the procurement of MiG-27 fighter jets from Ukraine, was released on “extraordinary grounds” from remand custody on Friday. This was after Senior State Counsel Udara Karunatilleke told Colombo’s Chief Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake in written submissions that the [...]
Local councils barred from using emergency funds for relief work
Local councils have been barred by the Ministry of Local Government from accessing their dedicated “Emergency Fund’ to carry out relief distribution initiatives on their own, after citing fears that the local government members may use the funds for politically motivated campaigns ahead of elections. Instead, Governors are drawing moneys from emergency funds for food [...]
Relaxation in some districts tomorrow
The islandwide curfew other than in the Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Jaffna, Puttalam and Kandy districts will be lifted at 6 a.m. tomorrow and reimposed at 2 p.m. the same day. The curfew in the Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Jaffna, Puttalam and Kandy districts will remain until further notice.
Curfew brings cleaner air – and a few questions
With the pandemic having brought the country to a standstill, official indicators are that the environment is in the process of healing – but there are puzzling signs of air pollution spikes. Since March 11, the country’s Air Quality Index (AQI) has decreased to a “moderate” level, with air pollution 30 per cent less compared [...]
CAA cracks the whip on online sellers: Fixed prices announced
The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) is now running strict surveillance across all platforms for any incidents of consumer exploitation through exaggerated prices, its Chairman Maj Gen (Rtd) D.MS. Dissannayake said. “We have asked sellers to sell at the maximum retails price while products without such a demarcation have been given controlled prices by the CAA,” [...]
Virus risk rising in Jaffna, while residents await relief
Three more people in Jaffna were confirmed with the new coronavirus disease this week, taking the count to seven in the north and security has been strengthened around locked-down villages to enforce what is being called a quarantine curfew. Youth groups and locals have gathered in remote areas violating curfew regulations, engaging in various recreational [...]
Adding fuel to fire: Forest fires hard on the heels of COVID-19
There is a surge in forest fires with environmentalists counting eight during the ongoing curfew with the Alagalla, Hantana and Sooriyakanda ranges badly affected. The total number of forest fires this month alone is 86, said Janaka Handunpathiraja, Assistant Director of Media of the Disaster Management Centre. “At a time when the whole country is [...]
COVID-19 patient from Beruwala gives birth
An expectant woman with COVID-19 from Beruwala has given birth to her baby at the Nagoda General Hospital, Kalutara, on Friday, Health Services Director General Dr. Anil Jasinghe said yesterday. It was only on checking the address given by the woman that the healthcare staff had realized that she was from a quarantined village and [...]
Hospitality industry suffers in shutdown
With occupancy rates reaching zero, only a handful of Colombo-based star-class hotels remain open to entertain a few foreign guests, while all resorts, boutique hotels, villas, guesthouses have closed down in the island. Covid-19 has brought the hospitality industry to a complete shutdown. President of the City Hotels Association, M Shanthikumar told the Sunday Times [...]
Battling COVID-19: From the frontline at NIID to getting a few hours of sleep at home
Life and death……the world including Sri Lanka has been brought to its knees by a tiny virus. Many have died and many more will die and for those who survive this holocaust, life will never be the same again. Across the globe whether it is China, Australia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Spain, the United [...]
No water, no fertiliser and no market: Farmers’ woes galore during lockdown
Farmers say they are at a standstill because scheduled meetings to decide on the release of water for cultivation have been postponed or cancelled due to the ongoing curfew. A key meeting was to be held on March 19 between the Irrigation Department and the Mahaweli Authority. It was postponed and held as a small [...]
Red Cross begins appeal to source protection gear for IDH
Considering the urgent needs for personal protection gear for healthcare workers at the Infectious Diseases Hospital where the majority of coronavirus patients are treated, the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society is appealing for funds to get the gear produced. The IDH is estimated to need 1,000 personal protection kits (including anti-fog goggles, face shield, gloves, [...]
Conduct testing to catch those affected by COVID-19
Test, test and test,” is what we need, was the strong call which went out from many health sources, echoing the World Health Organization (WHO), as several lamented that Sri Lanka may not be having adequate resources to do so. Coordinate laboratory testing including private sector support so that the Epidemiology Unit can strengthen its [...]
In Australia, thousands of Lankan students lose jobs, no money to fund food and lodging
Thousands of Sri Lankan students in Australia, many of them who financed themselves through casual, hourly-paid jobs, are now unemployed owing to the COVID-19 crisis and struggling to fund their food and lodging. They were working legally—20 hours per week, earning AUD 500—to manage their daily expenses and accommodation. They were paid by the hour [...]
Virus burial prevention move shocks Muslims
Islamic groups say the government has been deaf to their pleas for burial of Muslim coronavirus victims following a new decision to allow cremations only. The Health Ministry this week revised guidelines on the disposal of bodies of those who succumb to coronavirus, saying the bodies should be cremated. Two Muslims have been among the [...]
Flowers bloom, but livelihoods wither
The many reservoirs that dot the Rajarata are a sight for sore eyes these days– they are adorned by colourful lotus’ and lilies that are blooming in gay abandon. Although it maybe a pretty picture it also tells a tale of livelihoods being disrupted due to the islandwide curfew. Usually people in the area make [...]
Acting faster than COVID-19 spread: Lanka’s ‘Operation contact tracing’
On Wednesday, Sri Lanka recorded its third death from COVID-19. A man from Maradana succumbed en route to the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) from Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital where he had sought treatment, well after his affliction had worsened. As with any other confirmed coronavirus case, this was worrisome. But more so because the 74-year-old was [...]
Eat a balanced diet and exercise
As the people of Sri Lanka face long days and nights of restriction in their homes, Consultant Clinical Nutritionist Dr. Ranil Jayawardena offers important advice on infection preventive strategies, diet and more. This advice follows a systematic literature review carried out by him which is due to be published in the prestigious international journal, the [...]
Curfew breaks, and people quickly forget the rules
As curfew lifts at 6am in Mirissa and Weligama the rush is on for the supermarkets, banks and pharmacies, where long lines form – but here in the countryside fresh fruit and vegetables are easily found, unlike in the cities. On Monday, March 30, crowds in these coastal towns headed off for the shops fearing [...]
Fallen through the cracks
The imposition of curfew has posed a series of problems for the homeless, particularly those around the Colombo city, main towns in suburbs and some of the outstation towns. These elderly homeless were seen at bus stands, parks and other locations with some of them finding it difficult to obtain food. A few of them [...]
Maharagama resident’s contraption in use at police station
Maharagama Police have started using a disinfectant contraption put together by an area resident. Maharagama Chief Inspector H.H Jankantha said when Anuruddha Abeykoon informed him of his idea to create the contraption they had provided him some of the necessary equipment and allowed him to work at the police station.”He even used some of his [...]
Gateway College goes Online
The unexpected early closure of schools, was expected to cause much disruption to teaching and learning in schools. This was however, not the case for Gateway College, the only Microsoft Showcase School in Sri Lanka, and one among only 241 in the world. Through the commitment of dedicated teachers and the perseverance of parents and [...]
No tourism, no agriculture: Double blow for Nuwara Eliya residents
The tourism industry that was just picking up nearly one year after the Easter Sunday attacks is now facing a double blow with the spread of COVID-19. The effects of this is particularly being felt by residents of Nuwara Elioya where the livelihoods of one in ten people depends on tourism. Their main sources of [...]
Stranded hundreds await trip home to south
Former parliamentarian Sunil Handunneththi has appealed to the government to help hundreds of construction workers from the south held up in Colombo unable to return home due to the quarantine curfew. He has told the coronavirus committee in the Matara district headed by Minister of Education, Sports and Youth Affairs, Dullas Alahapperuma, about the situation. [...]
Indians pitch in to feed the hungry in coronavirus lockdown
MUMBAI/CHENNAI, India, April 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Indian businessman Shishpal Singh was still stirring vegetables and rice at his Mumbai apartment block when migrant workers laid off in the coronavirus lockdown began queueing nearby, desperate for a hot meal. The men had travelled to the western city from the southern state of Tamil Nadu [...]
Empathetic attitude may help combat Corona virus
Lack of cooperation on the part of those exposed to the new corona virus has become a major problem confronting the medical staff, Police and the Security Forces. The reason for this attitude is mainly fear — fear of being quarantined, fear of perceived suffering in quarantine, fear of isolation, fear of stigmas and so [...]
Navy’s month-long high sea vigil nets Lanka history’s biggest narcotics haul
The haul is the largest consignment of drugs seized by Sri Lankan agencies in the high seas Investigations are continuing to ascertain whether the record haul of drugs seized by the Sri Lanka Navy was destined for Sri Lanka or another country. The haul of 605 kilograms of Methamphetamine or “ICE” and 579 kilograms of [...]
Thousands of nameless city dwellers walk the streets starving
Thousands of cats, dogs, pigeons and crows are hungrily scanning the streets for food as workplaces, shops and markets remain closed for three weeks. The strays’ usual sources of sustenance are missing: the people who went around feeding them are restricted to their homes; the vendors and merchants on Colombo’s busy streets who tossed leftovers [...]
Sun bears down on people trapped in homes
While staying indoors for the duration of the quarantine curfew, brace to sweat as Sri Lanka’s heat index will reach an alarming level in the coming days, the Meteorology Department warned while issuing an ‘extreme weather caution’ to 11 districts including Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara. People are being advised to drink water frequently, to check [...]