News
Aggressive testing the way forward, medical specialists tell President
Aggressive testing using the correct method along with several other urgent measures is the way forward for Sri Lanka to crush the COVID-19 enemy, a group of high-level medical specialists has told President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
“The meeting was interactive and transparent and President Rajapaksa and his team of officials gave full ear to us and assured every possible measure,” said senior Cardiologist Dr. Vajira Senaratne.
Along with concerted testing, they have also recommended that the public should be continuously reminded about the ‘panchayudaya’ (five-weapon amulet) they should be armed with – stay at home, wear a mask, don’t touch the face, keep a distance of one metre from each other and constantly wash the hands with soap.
While acknowledging the recommendations and actions taken so far such as social distancing, quarantining people and closure of entry points by the authorities, the senior medical specialists drawn from many fields of expertise, dubbed as “urgent” a five-prong plan to beat off the new coronavirus.
The plan, according to senior Endocrinologist and researcher Dr. Prasad Katulanda includes:
n Aggressive testing
n Ramping up the local production of ventilators and necessary equipment by the private sector to meet this national emergency
n Provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and N-95 masks to healthcare staff, especially for those looking after COVID-19 patients, while advising the public on washable cloth masks
n Simple changes in the hospital infrastructure to meet the needs of the COVID-19 epidemic without jeopardising the whole hospital
n Fully-equipping identified Intensive Care Units (ICUS) which are treating COVID-19 critical patients Referring to testing, Dr. Katulanda says that they suggested that as most COVID-19 cases are still confined to ‘clusters’ there is potential for closing down these clusters and any new ones that would emerge by a systematic method of isolation and regular testing to identify new cases. In this way, there is a potential for making Sri Lanka free of the endogenous COVID infection and opening the economy and day-to-day life.
They had also strongly recommended that a senior official directly answerable to the Presidential Task Force should be appointed to ensure adequate capacity for testing with immediate effect.
In addition to Dr. Senaratne and Dr. Katulanda, the 10-member delegation which attended the meeting at 11 a.m. on Thursday at the Presidential Secretariat comprised Prof. Ranjani Gamage, Prof. Saroj Jayasinghe, Prof. Neelika Malavige, Prof. Arjuna De Silva, Prof. Vajira Dissanayake, Dr. Kumudini Ranatunga, Dr. Amitha Fernando and Dr. Indika de Lanerolle.
The others who provided their expertise were Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama, Dr. Jude Jayamaha and Prof. Manuj Weerasinghe.
The meeting came as the total number of COVID-19 confirmed cases rose to 190 (as of Friday) with seven deaths. While 50 people have recovered and gone home, there were 224 suspected cases under observation.
The Sunday Times learns that of around 98 patients at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) only one patient is in the ICU. Among the patients are six children under 13 years and they are on the road to recovery.
Meanwhile, a severe shortage of swab-sticks, an important tool for the COVID-19 test, has been reported, the Sunday Times learns.
The swab sticks are used to take nasopharyngeal samples from patients for testing, whether they are positive or negative for COVID-19.
When asked whether Sri Lanka has run out of swab-sticks, health sources conceded that there was a shortage but assured that stocks are expected on Monday.
While other sources questioned whether there were no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Friday because of the shortage of swab-sticks and samples not being taken, the Sunday Times learns that preparations are being made to test the saliva or sputum of patients.
The sensitivity of the saliva or sputum samples to the test is reported to be much lower than that of the nasopharyngeal (extreme end of the nasal passage) sample.
Meanwhile, this week Tharapuram, a village in Mannar, was put on strict lockdown when contact-tracing found that a person from Puttalam diagnosed with COVID-19 on April 7 had attended a funeral there on March 18. The other sealed villages include Akurana in Kandy, Kadayankulam in Puttalam and Atalugama in Kalutara.
The Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation introduced the ‘Viru Abhiman’ free insurance scheme for healthcare workers engaged in the campaign against COVID-19. They include doctors, nurses, paramedics, drivers, minor employees, public health inspectors and regional health officials of the Health Ministry.