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Pandemic at peak: 1,217 deaths this week
View(s):COVID-19 fatalities continue to surge, with this week recording the highest number of deaths in a week since the beginning of the pandemic.
The death toll released yesterday was 212, while 4,582 cases were also reported yesterday.
This week 1,217 COVID-19 related deaths were reported while 27,059 people were infected with the virus, the Health Ministry said. The country’s total COVID fatalities exceeded the 8,000 mark and stood at 8,583 by yesterday. Earlier this week daily death toll ranged between 190 and 198 and surpassed 200 on Wednesday. Wednesday’s death toll (released on Thursday) was 209 deaths while Thursday’s death toll was 214.
The highest number of COVID positive cases was also reported this week with 4,602 cases on Thursday. The majority of the victims were above 60 years old. A total of 416,931 people have contracted the virus since the first wave, the Ministry said.
With an increasing number of cases, the Government is aiming at strengthening the vaccination drive during the lockdown mainly targeting those above 60 years. More than 1.3 million doses of COVID vaccines were administered in the first five days of the lockdown period, Health Ministry’s Epidemiology Unit said.
Since the beginning of the vaccination programme, over 1.3 million Lankans have received the first dose of Covishield vaccine and another 88,000 received the second dose. More than 9.6 million persons above the age of 30 have received the Sinopharm vaccine and more than 5.1 million have been administered with the second dose of the Chinese vaccine. Close to 160,000 people have received the Russian-made Sputnik-V and more than 25,000 have received its second dose.
More than 300,000 people have received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine and more than 180,000 the second dose. Over 771,000 persons have received the Moderna vaccine’s first dose and about 580,000 have received its second dose.