Nineteen police areas of the 33 police areas in the Gampaha district are under quarantine curfew, said Police Spokesperson Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Ajith Rohana on Friday when the Sunday Times met him at Police Headquarters.

As of Friday afternoon, travel restrictions had been clamped on five areas in the Kegalle district.

Meanwhile, the DIG added that there are currently over 10,000 people in quarantine centres and 16,000 people in home quarantine.

Alleging that their request to the Health Minister for a meeting, has “unfortunately” gone unheeded due to unknown reasons, the AMS states that its membership, serving all over the country in the public health service both in curative and preventive arms, is gravely concerned with the clusters and scattered cases of COVID-19 that have started surfacing recently.

“We also note that most of the cases are either asymptomatic or have minimal symptoms and both the quarantine and treatment centres are reaching maximum capacity. As a result, we feel that the approach may have to be modified to suit the changing trend,” the AMS, headed by Dr. L.A. Ranasinghe, has said.

Pointing out that sporadic cases of COVID-19 detected among healthcare workers have created a degree of apprehension and a sense of insecurity at their work places, the AMS states that it is further aggravated by the accounts they hear from colleagues who have had bitter experiences of harassment when they were exposed to infected patients.

The AMS states: “Nearly 10 months of the COVID-19 experience around the world shows that healthcare workers (especially doctors) have suffered more due to the virus, having a several fold higher mortality rate due to repeated exposure as well as exposure to a higher viral load, compared to the general population.

“To allay their anxiety and to ensure uninterrupted services of our system, we suggest that PCR should be arranged for them without any delay or harassment. The entire process should be guided by the circulars issued by the Director-General of Health Services and all heads of health institutions should be instructed to adhere to them strictly

“It is equally important to expedite results for swift action to follow, if positive. When quarantine is indicated, we request that a special line of communication be established to deal with healthcare workers and advise authorities to accommodate them in suitable places depending on their official status.

“With the recent surge in numbers with the majority being asymptomatic, accommodating all positives in hospitals may become impracticable. Therefore, we request you to direct authorities to have non-hospital observational facilities ready for asymptomatic positives, so that hospital beds would become available for symptomatic COVID-19 patients. A disaster preparedness plan has to be in place to be activated if and when the need arises. It will also be essential to formulate stringent criteria for ICU admissions, if the bed capacity is projected to be overwhelmed.”

GMOA Secretary Dr. Senal Fernando told a media briefing on Thursday that these actions include:

• The upgrading  and standardization of RT-PCR testing. This is in the light of the different categories that have to be tested.
• Enhancement of human resources in the field of epidemiological prevention and RT-PCR testing
• Increasing the capacity for COVID-19 treatment services so as not to interfere with other necessary patient care
• Dissemination of data of the Epidemiology Unit among all stakeholders and mapping the distribution of patients and their contacts using GPS technology
• Updating guidelines on the definition, treatment and hospital management of COVID-19 patients

There were many gatherings before the latest cluster was found, say PHIs

The Public Health Inspectors’ (PHIs) Union shows how so many have got affected in the Minuwangoda cluster, after the identification of a COVID-19 positive on October 4 by chance by the doctors of the Gampaha Hospital.

The Epidemiology Unit’s thinking is that the infections may have been there since about September 20. There were two weekends between September 20 and October 4 during which many of these factory workers went home. They also share boardings with workers of other factories. During this period, there had also been a funeral, an alms-giving and a pirith gedara in the Gampaha district, said union President Upul Rohana, explaining how people go all out to help others.

He said that 80% of the workers who attended the funeral have tested positive, making the tracing of all their contacts very challenging. There are also some connections that are not revealed openly like the person who tested positive in Ambakandawila, Chilaw. The caseload is heavy and now almost all districts have positive patients.

“We have found some patients where we cannot find the origin of the infection but we cannot say that they are not connected to the Minuwangoda cluster,” he said.

In retrospect, Mr. Rohana says that when a large number of workers fell ill, the Brandix company should have suspected that something was going on. Earlier, the PHIs had visited the factory to check whether the guidelines were followed and pointed out where they could be strengthened.

Pointing out that not only the people but also the authorities let down their guard with regard to preventive measures, Mr. Rohana said that this was why it was important to bring in the Gazette to set out the regulations to combat COVID-19 under the Quarantine and Prevention of Diseases Ordinance of 1897.

He urged that all stakeholders in the battle to control the virus should work in tandem and not in isolation. There should be a meeting with the PHIs at least once a month.

Citing an example where there is a gap in coordination at ground level, Mr. Rohana said that sometimes when a positive case is identified they get the information from the intelligence service and not from the Epidemiology Unit. Then they have to confirm it by giving a round of calls.

He recalls how a student sitting the Grade 5 Scholarship examination was in self-quarantine but there were moves by the security forces to take him to a quarantine centre.

“We said we would take the health precautions and give the student a safety kit and send the student for the exam. Soon after the student finished the exam, the child was sent to a quarantine centre,” added Mr. Rohana whose union has 1,870 PHIs working in 352 Medical Officer of Health (MOH) areas.

Looking at the possibilities of how  there could have been a leak of the virus, he said that the airport was at fault in some instances. When SriLankan Airlines crew arrive they go into home quarantine, but there are no proper guidelines and they are not under the supervision of anyone. Another risk is smuggling rackets between Sri Lankans and Indians which happen on the high seas.

We got the Brandix returnees as individuals, so there was confusion

The Brandix staff members who returned from India were quarantined in hotels but when handed over to the PHIs for the second 14-day home quarantine we didn’t know they were a group from that company, said Mr. Upul Rohana, explaining how the union Secretary had gone public that they never quarantined Brandix staff.

The authorities have a “clue” as to the source of infection of the Minuwangoda cluster, Head of the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) and Army Commander Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva told the Sunday Times on Thursday.

“We have bit of a clue now on where/who the source may be. We cannot tell you right now but we will tell you maybe in a couple of days once we get the information confirmed and the authenticity is established. We have gone through various channels and found a likely source,” he said in a wide-ranging interview at Army Headquarters at Sri Jayewardenepura, Kotte.

With regard to the current situation, he said that “we are at the latter stages of the second week. When you compare it to what has happened there, I think we can be happy that we have managed to contain the situation as per the strategy we adopted in the beginning for COVID-19. Up to now, we have not found a single person outside the Minuwangoda cluster. They are all totally linked to the cluster”.

Army Commander Lt. General Shavendra Silva

He said that all cases detected are basically within the curfew areas and they find one or two cases coming from various parts.

Lt. Gen. Silva said: “Initially, we found that although it was from various parts of Sri Lanka, they were all employees of the Minuwangoda cluster and now their contacts are appearing from different parts of the country in small numbers which of course we should be alarmed and cautious about but all of them are connected to this cluster.

“We expect that we might get a few more in time to come from various places……but we have managed to identify each and every individual who tested positive as well as their immediate contacts and while we move forward we have been able to trace back and identify the source where they have got the infection from,” the NOCPCO Head said, adding that as of today, they have managed to curtail and contain the spread.

“One of our strategies was containment, which we have done as we have prevented the spreading of the infection. All the cases popping up now around the country, wherever it may be is connected to the original Minuwangoda cluster.”

When asked whether there would be an overload on hospitals, quarantine centres and testng capacities, he said: “No, I don’t foresee anything as such. At any given time, one might think there is a problem with the capacity. It was felt from the very beginning of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka. Have we ever gone short of capacities? When we built the very first quarantine centre for those who came from Wuhan, China, we would have felt ‘could we afford to get more?’ At that time the only hospital was the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) and now we have 15-20 more hospitals ready.

“This is an ongoing process and we are evaluating the number of COVID-19 patients versus the number of quarantine centres that will be required. We are very proactive in our action and thereby we have been able to always accommodate any number that comes in because we have created sufficient space for quarantine or in hospitals.

“I don’t foresee a shortage………….unlike advanced countries, we will not let the people feel there is a shortage even if we have one. We will not allow people to face such a situation like that.”

Here are excerpts of the interview with Lt. Gen Shavendra Silva:

• What if the virus gets into the older community? Aren’t we managing the crisis because most of the patients are young?

So far we have been lucky that this was detected with a generation that can be managed. That gave enough alarm and sufficient time for the vulnerable groups to take the necessary precautions against COVID-19.

Every day we brief and tell people to be careful with the elderly group. This is not a sudden thing to hit the vulnerable groups, I think most vulnerable groups look after themselves or their children or whoever takes care of them, advise them and there is no problem there.

But yes, COVID is such a dangerous thing irrespective of whatever the age. This is because we have still not detected what the extent of this virus is………As of now, we have not identified the exact damage of the virus, therefore, what I feel is that the best thing to do is not get COVID-19.

• What of the capacity for RT-PCR testing?

The RT-PCR testing, we are running between 5,000 and 7,000 (8000 maximum). We have passed the 7,000 limit during the past few days daily but practically we can run up to 5,000 because if we are going to continuously do this, it is not the test kit but the man behind the test kit that will get fatigued over this. There might be enough people to take swabs but not those in the laboratory who are reading the reports…….so we have to consider the fatigue that is being faced.

• What about personnel at ground level?

Personnel like the PHIs (Public Health Inspectors) were stretched to some extent because this was concentrated in the Minuwangoda, Divulapitiya and Veyangoda areas but on Wednesday the President took the decision during the Task Force meeting to get another set of doctors and PHIs from other areas to be brought as a reserve to support those from this area.

We were trying to create a reserve and what I suggested was to have a mobile reserve that we can push into any affected area. This began on Thursday.

• What are the challenges faced by the Tri-Forces?

We like and love challenges as we can keep up our momentum as professionals. This is not a war. This is a non-traditional threat, a new thing not just for us but to the world. Especially, with us being a country with a small economy, we have to understand the capacities of all other stakeholders and since our main aim is to protect the people, we are trying to bridge the gap. It is a huge challenge.

Starting from quarantining, which is not an army job, the first challenge was building quarantine centres and we never gave up. Right now there are 10,500 people under quarantine in more than 96 centres but still I have created a further capacity for another 2,000. Even if it comes to another 5,000, space can be created and as of now there are plans for a further 10,000.

The other challenge is finding the people to look after those in the quarantine centres. The health sector cannot handle this. As of today, not a single health sector doctor, nurse or employee is in these quarantine centres. These centres are run 80% by the army and 10% each by the Navy and Air Force. That is another challenge to face, while looking after the health of over 175,000 army personnel.

We can say that we were the most successful in the world because we have not allowed any person in a quarantine centre to spread the disease to another. Imagine more than 52,000 people have passed through quarantine centres but no quarantine cluster has been reported as we managed so well with limited resources.

Not everyone is happy to get quarantined for 14 days and we have to ensure they don’t mix with other people as well so a lot of staff is required for that.

What we realized with this cluster (Minuwangoda) is that PHIs alone could not get these people into quarantine centres or hospitals because they were limited and the tri-services (mostly army) had to get involved in transporting these individuals from home to hospital or quarantine centre.

Another challenge was that in this cluster people were initially not voluntarily going into quarantine centres. We had to expose our soldiers to go behind people, to go behind those with incorrect addresses and get those individuals into hospitals or quarantine centres within 24-48 hours.

That was the biggest challenge we had because the President tasked us to get all those individuals within 48 hours and our strategy here was to get them out of society to stop the spread of the infection.

In my strategy, I don’t expose the entire army for this. We only run with a limited group because these people can’t come and mix up with other people. We have to monitor them and keep them separate. If they need to go home, they need to undergo 14 days of quarantine and are subjected to an RT-PCR test. They are also part of society when they take off their uniform. We are happy to do this for the public

• Why is the army spearheading COVID-19 prevention and control?

National security is a very important thing. People think national security is only military security but no, it is food security, health security, diplomacy security and other types.

In national security, health security is also important. When this started, we know there was in-between chatter when I was appointed as the Head with talk floating around that I was not a health person. I don’t have to say anything about this because we have proven beyond doubt as to why it is not a military person heading this. That is the decision of the President and his government…….if people believe that the military doing this contributed to its success, that is all that we are concerned about.

• Is there militarization of the COVID-19 effort?

Just because a retired officer or military people are in good appointments, some people will talk about things like that, but when you have capable people producing results irrespective of the background they come from, at the end the day all that matters is the results.

In the military I had a quote: ‘I am not interested about the effort, I am interested about results.’ One can have enough efforts being put in but if he can’t produce the results then there is no point. We should be result-oriented to develop this country.

• Do you believe there was a gap in the health services?

While working here, I have seen gaps. In any place there can be gaps due to limited resources, due to financial constraints, due to education and various other gaps. We should not be worried about whether there is a gap or not but we should be worried on how to run without any gaps.

If the military can assist to fill the gap, the classic example is the quarantine of individuals that is handled solely by us. Another example is the hospitals, in the beginning it was only IDH and the military was the one who supported the health sector to increase from one hospital to 22. All Tri-Forces supported each hospital to build their infrastructure.

• Concerns on how people are being taken to quarantine centres

The classic example here is that when we told all the workers (in the Minuwangoda cluster) that they are supposed to come either to the road, the factory or particular areas and report, people did not come. Because of the national security aspect, we along with the police and PHIs had to walk from house to house and remove them from their houses to a quarantine centre or hospital to safeguard the people.

Whether a person is happy or unhappy, if he is a danger to the society, we are not reluctant to do that. As of today, there are certain practical issues that they have, such as them being unable to leave their dog or there isn’t anyone to feed their fish, but can we take the dog, the fish to the camps?

They should have had an alternative prepared because yes for the very first group it was a sudden thing. However if you know that a family member has got COVID-19, then there is a likely chance that they will be taken for quarantine. We announced as well, saying that if people had contact with workers from the Minuwangoda factory, they have to be watchful and that they might get COVID. We have given enough warning to these people, since they have contact – otherwise they would not have to worry – they must be prepared with a bag and all.

First of all they did not turn up, and on Monday night (this week) there was an incident where they had put their dogs out so that no one would be able to come to the house. This is what happened in the Seeduwa area. We endanger our lives to get close to them when they are not willing to come. Our only goal here is to protect them. They should not consider us their enemies because we don’t want them to die in their houses, we don’t want to spread the virus among their household, their neighbours, their village.

They must understand that the military is coming to protect them and those around them. Those people who don’t understand that are the ones who say they were grabbed.

The reason we take some people at 1 or 2 in the night is because those people did not get ready and come in the afternoon. No sooner when we get the information, we do not care what time of day it is, our aim is to take them out of society as soon as possible.

As soon as possible means from the time that the health sector and military get the information, so 24/7 we have to run. We cannot afford to not to run 24/7 as we know the gravity of the situation.

• Health press conferences being cancelled

We have not said to cancel all press conferences, we have just said to have all press conferences at the NOCPCO in Rajagiriya. What is the health security for the people? That is one reason.

The other is giving proper information to everyone. There were two press conferences by the Health Ministry that was done on their own for two days. The past three months, the press were given the information at the NOCPCO centre and then all of a sudden someone started giving these press conferences at the Health Promotion Bureau for one or two days.

Media briefings are given by one person from the police, the Health Ministry and me. When we give together, we are aware of what each other gives and moreover we give the information at 4.30 p.m. so that the information is new.

For the last four months when we were successful we were having the habit of giving the press conferences from the NOCPCO centre, this is because the centre controls the entire thing such as information gathering.

How many of the Brandix staff and families from all over the country have been affected by COVID-19? Please let me know how many are in hospital and how many in quarantine centres?

As at 16th October 2020, 1,526 PCR tests were conducted at our Minuwangoda facility of which 1,065 have been confirmed positive and 461 confirmed as negative. Thereafter, we have conducted a further 3,435 PCR tests across our other facilities of which there have been 12 positives, 2,325 negatives, whilst 1,098 remain as pending. As per the advice of the Government, as a health and safety precaution, the company will continue to conduct a stipulated number of PCR tests across our locations.

Are there any who are critically ill?

None of the affected employees or their family members are critically ill as reported by the medical teams at the hospitals.

How many of the family members who are being quarantined at the Minuwangoda facility have been subjected to RT-PCR testing?

The Minuwangoda manufacturing plant is currently closed and not operating as a quarantine centre. Affected team members and their family members are currently undergoing treatment at the hospitals and the quarantine centers in line with government regulations, including PCR testing, and we are doing our utmost to support their recovery. Most recently, we have been working closely with the hospitals to support them with the additional infrastructure requirements to meet the needs of our affected team members and others.

Additionally, a former facility of Brandix in Pinnawela was converted to a quarantine centre with 300 beds, and under the management of the Sri Lanka Army, accommodates our employees and family members throughout the quarantine process. We also continue to operate a quarantine centre provided by us in Punani, Batticaloa during the COVID-19 outbreak earlier on in the year, which also presently houses employees, family members, and any others affected. Our dedicated call centres continue to stay connected with our affected colleagues and their families.

Have any of those in-home quarantine now (the 48 who returned on September 22) tested positive for the virus? If so, how many? When will these 48 people conclude their home quarantine?

None of the 48 Sri Lankan team members working at our Apparel Park in Visakhapatnam and returned to Sri Lanka on the third and last flight tested positive for the virus. They will be completing this period on October 20.

How many Brandix Head Office staff and their families have tested positive? If so, how could this have happened as there were no “frequent visits” to the manufacturing facilities?

Of the 189 team members operating at the Brandix Head Office in Colombo 03, we conducted PCR tests on 101 members on October 6, carried out for potential COVID-19 infections following the positive cases reported from our Minuwangoda facility. Two of them tested positive. Seventeen team members who were identified as first contacts for these two affected colleagues have undergone PCR tests and the results are negative. They are currently in government regulated quarantine facilities.

Could Brandix please answer with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ whether any material (fabric or anything else) has been imported from abroad (either India or elsewhere) for use in any Brandix facility in Sri Lanka including Minuwangoda in the past three months? If yes, what was imported and from where? Please don’t couch the answer in high heat containers etc.,

No, our facility in Minuwangoda has not used any fabric imported from India in the past two months, contrary to some misleading reports. With regards to our other facilities, yes, we have imported fabric from India as well as other countries, which is no different from any other apparel company in Sri Lanka which cannot rely solely on the local supply chain.

There are very serious allegations that the medical clinic at the Brandix Minuwangoda facility “just” treated a large number of people who came with fever, cough and cold. Is the clinic manned by a qualified doctor or nurses?

We have outsourced the Medical Centre operations to a reputed private medical company. The Medical Centre is manned by 2 qualified nurses at all times. We also have a qualified doctor who visits the Medical Centre for 1 hour daily from Monday–Friday. While there is no legal requirement to have a qualified doctor at the Medical Centre, we have taken the necessary steps to provide this facility to our employees as a service.

How many people sought treatment from September 1st to 30th for flu-like symptoms including cough?

All our employees from this facility are currently under quarantine and the plant is sealed. As such, we have no access to our systems and records at this point in time but as our investigation progresses, we will provide this information accurately.

Didn’t the medical clinic staff see a red alert when large numbers sought treatment, in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic spreading throughout the world and inform the Brandix management that something seemed to be amiss? Did no one suggest random RT-PCR testing to rule out COVID-19?

As stated above

Does Brandix accept that there seems to be a systems failure at ground-level despite the “COVID-19 prevention process being a standard practice for both internal and external parties”? Who are these “internal” and “external” parties that Brandix is referring to?

We are not in a position to confirm whether there was a system failure without a proper investigation, which is underway. We are clear of our corporate policy with regards to health and safety standards and the requirements of the Government that are required to be adhered to. Whilst the disease is new and evolving, and we are all learning of the efficacy of our processes, in the event there has been a lapse on the part of this plant, with regards to the standards outlined above, we will share these findings and take the necessary action.

The internal parties we refer to here are our employees, while external parties refer to third-party service providers.

Was there an urgent order (may be in the past 3-4 months) that Brandix had to deliver recently, which made the management at ground level crack the whip and get ill workers to come in, as alleged by some of them? There was a news item in May that the “apparel industry received a big boost from the US – an order of 200 million face masks with Brandix exporting the first consignment”. Was part of it done at the Minuwangoda facility? Has there been an internal investigation about the allegations made by these workers and if so what are the findings?

The export manufacturing environment for apparel is characterised by speed of response to meet our customer expectation. However, most of this pressure is handled by our supply chain planning process in prioritising orders, capacities and materials. Labour hours in manufacturing are managed under strict guidelines as per the country law and customer compliance expectations, regardless of the specific order being manufactured.

We can also confirm that there was no part of the 200 million mask order in this plant at the time of this outbreak and it had no special circumstances that affected management decisions.

As stated above, any deviations in the plant management would be captured in our investigations and addressed.

Brandix has not answered our earlier question about a party in early September? Has there been any party with a mixing of employees in the past 1½ months? What does Brandix mean by “efforts to run employee engagement to boost morale”? Were there parties or not? If there were, had health protocols been followed? What are the results of the Brandix investigation?

A gathering of 40 Executives from the Minuwangoda facility took place at an outdoor location during the evening hours on September 25, 2020 in accordance with the health and safety guidelines of the hotel. We also had an employee engagement event at our Minuwangoda facility the following afternoon. We are currently investigating how effectively our health and safety protocols were followed at this event.