News
Decision on airport opening under discussion
No moves are underway to open the entry points to Sri Lanka just yet as the new coronavirus has not abated around the world, while all measures are being taken to safeguard the country from a community spread of COVID-19, the Sunday Times learns.
Explaining that anybody coming from overseas could bring COVID-19 into the country, the Health Ministry’s Chief Epidemiologist, Dr. Sudath Samaraweera said that all those entering the country legally through the airport (mainly Sri Lankan returnees) are subjected to RT-PCR testing and then sent to quarantine centres.
Proof of this was evident in the past week (August 23 to 28) with 32 new cases of COVID-19 being diagnosed among returnees from abroad and only 10 from the Kandakadu cluster.
While there are strong border controls being implemented by the navy to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country, he urged those living in coastal areas particularly along the northwestern, northern and eastern shoreline to be vigilant against even a few slipping in without detection. On the part of the health authorities, they are carrying out community sampling and testing for COVID-19 in these areas to get an early indication of any sign of the virus.
“People should be vigilant against illegal migration, while stringently observing the health guidelines, such as hand hygiene, face-mask wearing and social distancing, making them part of their lifestyle and behaviour,” stressed Dr. Samaraweera.
Referring to the opening of the airport, he said that the Cabinet of Ministers is discussing this and no firm decision has been taken yet. There is a loss of income and livelihood when tourism is considered but on the other hand if COVID-19 spreads in the country through people who come in, the adverse consequences would be great.
“The priority now is to bring the Sri Lankan workers who are clamouring to come back. There are around 54,000 people, mainly in West Asia who are in dire straits, some do not have houses and jobs, others are living in the embassies and some even on the streets. They need to be brought back in a controlled and staggered manner taking into account the available quarantine facilities, hospital beds and RT-PCR testing capabilities,” he said.
Returnee diagnosed with virus during home quarantine
Dr. Samaraweera said that on Wednesday (August 26), a woman returnee who is pregnant was detected with COVID-19 during home quarantine. She is now at the Colombo East (Mulleriyawa) Base Hospital.
The Sunday Times understands that the six-month pregnant woman who returned from Dubai had been at the Vavuniya quarantine centre for 14 days and was in home quarantine thereafter in Arachchikattuwa, Chilaw, when she felt unwell and sought treatment at the Chilaw Hospital. Considering her case history as she was a returnee, an RT-PCR test had been done.
“She was ‘borderline’ positive, but we are taking no chances. The family is in home quarantine under the watchful eye of the ground-level health staff. They may be taken to a quarantine centre,” said Dr. Samaraweera.
12th death
In a wide-ranging interview with the Sunday Times, the Chief Epidemiologist spoke of the death of the 12th patient and said that more than the virus, her death could be attributed to the cancer which she was suffering from.
The Sunday Times learns that the 47-year-old woman from Mawathagama returned to the country from Chennai, India, on August 20 on Flight UL 1126 and was sent into quarantine.
Detected with COVID-19 on August 22, the woman who was also suffering from cancer and diabetes had been sent to the Iranawila Hospital and later transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), Angoda, where she died last Sunday (August 23).
Clusters & sub-clusters
Focusing on the clusters and sub-clusters, Dr. Samaraweera said that except the Kandakadu-Senapura cluster, all the other sub-clusters have abated.
“We are carrying out extensive RT-PCR testing at the Kandakadu and Senapura Treatment & Rehabilitation Centres as there are about 300 people living there. This week too we did another round of testing at Kandakadu and found 10 positive cases, while on August 10, when we did testing at Senapura, we detected 23 positive cases. Then we test all those who have had close contact with them,” said Dr. Samaraweera, explaining that the same procedure is followed at the 40 quarantine centres. These rigorous procedures are followed until the clusters thin out and turn negative.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner-General of Rehabilitation, Major-General Dharshana Hettiarrachchi said that 16 from Kandakadu and 13 from Senapura are receiving treatment at the Kandakadu field hospital. A total of 568 inmates have tested positive so far in this cluster.
From the ground-level, the Sunday Times found that all the sub-clusters – Gampaha, Lankapura, Kahathuduwa and Rajanganaya – of the Kanadakdu cluster have abated with no new cases being reported.
| It’s infrared and not ultra-violet | |
| With concern spreading among people that the rays from the hand-held thermometers that are being used at entry-points to buildings, offices and supermarkets could be dangerous, Dr. Sudath Samaraweera said that there is no possibility of an adverse health effect because it emitted infrared and not ultra-violet (UV) rays which were harmful. He pointed out that infrared light therapy is even used to ease pain. What is bad is UV rays and they are not used in these thermometers. Earlier, a Facebook and other social media posts claimed that infrared thermometers when held near the forehead could pose a potential health risk to the pineal gland in the brain which produces and regulates some hormones, including melatonin. They suggested that the thermometer should be held to the wrist or elbow and not the forehead. Re-infection very rare & negligible When asked about the re-infection of a person in Hong Kong who had earlier been affected by COVID-19, Dr. Samaraweera said that when looking at infections across the world, it is just 1 case out of 24.3 million. “It seems very rare and negligible.” Though academically and clinically it may be of significance, epidemiologically and in the sphere of disease control, it is not a major issue, he added. Background research by the Sunday Times found that a man in his 30s in Hong Kong who had a first infection of COVID-19 about 4½ months ago has been reportedly re-infected recently, with a virus of a ‘clearly different strain’, according to Hong Kong scientists who had performed genome sequencing.
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