Several villages in Aranayake temporarily locked down following suspicious death

Residents in Debathgama, Kalugala and other villages surrounding villages in Aranayake were temporarily subjected to a lockdown today (6) after the suspicious death of a 22-year-old youth in Kalugala yesterday. 

The deceased, who had been a mechanic at a garage in Borella, Colombo, died suddenly yesterday. As the cause of death was unexplained, samples taken from him were sent for testing to determine whether he had COVID-19. 

Though curfew in the Kegalle district was lifted at 6.00am today, residents of Kalugala, Debathgama and surrounding areas were restricted in their movements by police. Shops in Debathgama town which had opened in the morning, were later shut down by police. Only a few shops in the villages were open for people to buy provisions. 

However, this afternoon, the Kegalle Medical Officer of Health confirmed that test results of the deceased have come back negative for COVID-19. Nevertheless, the curfew that was lifted at 6.00am was reimposed at 2.00pm today again. Many area residents who had been hoping to go out and buy provisions were unable to do so due to the temporary lockdown that was put in place until the test results came back. 

Text and Pix by Pradeep Kumara Dharmaratne