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Covid-19 infections: Health experts warn of drastic increase

20 Nov 2021

 
  • Predict 1,000 new cases per day by December
  • Authorities plan wider home quarantine options
  • PHIs in the dark about health regulations for tourism
  By Yoshitha Perera  Health officials last week cautioned the public to strictly adhere to the health guidelines, citing carelessness and ignorance as major contributors that make containing Sri Lanka’s Covid-19 outbreak challenging. The warnings come as the world braces for another Covid-19 outbreak during the winter season. Health Promotion Bureau (HPB) Director Dr. Ranjith Batuwanthudawa told The Sunday Morning that, at present, the country was experiencing an increase in the daily Covid-19 cases reported and warned that the continuous failure to follow health guidelines would result in a drastic increase in new cases even before the festive season. The number of Covid-19 infections in the country is continuously rising. Sri Lanka began reporting roughly 500 Covid-19 cases per day at the end of October. However, just two weeks after reopening the country, this number rose to roughly 600, and now, the daily number of Covid-19 cases reported surpassed the 700 mark. Health officials estimated that within a week or two, it would pass 800 daily cases, and by mid-December, it may approach the 1,000 mark. Dr. Batuwanthudawa charged that the people were pushing the country into a dangerous scenario without following the health guidelines at a time when it is possible to live without lockdowns. “Although efforts have been made to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus, there has been an increase in the number of cases reported these days. It was not a good indication. We are trying to identify the events behind this increase,” he said. According to Dr. Batuwanthudawa, the procedures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 within the population were not being properly followed by the people. “Wearing a facemask is important but we can see that people are not focusing on this as well. This should be taken into consideration again,” he said. Responding to a query on how the health authorities are planning to mitigate and lessen the upcoming threat, Dr. Batuwanthudawa said the Health Ministry plans to develop the home-based quarantine system further. “Covid-19 patients are being treated under home-based quarantine. Due to this, the hospital system got some relief. However, if there is an increase in the number of Covid-19 patients again, it has the potential to put the hospital system management at a risk,” he said. He said that the Health Ministry had started the pilot project of providing home-based quarantine treatment to Covid-19 patients in the Kalutara District last June, which was then expanded islandwide in August. “So far, 109,373 patients with Covid-19 have been treated at home and at present, 3,813 patients are being treated under the home-based quarantine system,” he said. This comes in a backdrop where Director-General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena has warned that restrictions will be considered for the upcoming festive season if the public does not act in a responsible manner.   Five districts – Anuradhapura, Ampara, Hambantota, Matara, and Galle – have seen an increase in Covid patients, with authorities detecting new Covid clusters. The transmission rate of the virus has increased due to people gathering for public events, weddings, and religious observances, Dr. Gunawardena said.  Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Public Health Inspectors’ Union (PHIU) President Upul Rohana said that the ground-level health authorities were completely in the dark with regard to the management process of mandatory quarantine programmes for tourists and Sri Lankans arriving from overseas. “Due to this situation, there is a risk of new Covid-19 strains entering from other countries. Medical Officers of Health (MOHs) and PHIs were unaware of the hotels that the foreigners are undergoing their quarantine programme, so we cannot supervise them. If any of these foreigners tested positive for Covid-19, it could be a risk to the hotel staff, as they are returning to their homes,” Rohana explained. Explaining the failure of the people in following the health guidelines, Rohana said that it was in the hands of the people to prevent another lockdown. “If there is another lockdown, it will lead to serious consequences for the country’s economy as well as our education system,” he said. Meanwhile, speaking to The Sunday Morning, Health Minister Keheliya Rambuwella said that the Government and relevant authorities were handling the tourists and Sri Lankans arriving in a very cautious and realistic manner. “This should be viewed in two ways: On the one hand, if the Government granting permission for tourists to enter the nation exacerbates the pandemic situation, it should not be neglected, and efforts to address the problem should be implemented. “On the other hand, the country cannot disregard the tourism sector’s improvement because the industry’s investments are so large," he remarked. He also stated that the travel and tourism industry employs 11% of the local workforce and that this issue should not be treated lightly and should be addressed seriously. Minister Rambukwella stressed the importance of striking a balance in dealing with this scenario and the ongoing Covid crisis. He also stated that while there will be criticisms of the Government's actions on this issue, its primary concern at this time is to find ways and means of moving forward and bringing the country’s economy up to a standard that will prevent the country from collapsing. Meanwhile, according to a tweet by Sri Jayewardenepura University’s Allergy, Immunology, and Cell Biology Unit Director Dr. Chandima Jeewandara, another sub lineage of the Delta variant of Covid-19 has been detected in Sri Lanka. The sub lineage has been assigned as B.1.617.2.104. This development comes in addition to the detection of the B.1.617.2.28 sub lineage of the Delta variant detected in the country earlier. Administration of booster shot Health authorities commenced administering the third dose or booster shot of the Covid-19 vaccine to people above the age of 60 in the country last Wednesday (17). The Government had started administering the Pfizer vaccine as the booster shot amidst several criticisms from different parties. A senior virologist in Sri Lanka, Prof. Tissa Vitharana in a recent article had mentioned that he considers the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as unsafe, as they are based on mRNA, which is composed of viable genetic material. He further stated that this type of vaccine has not been used on humans before and it is uncertain how the mRNA will act once combined with the genetic material in our bodies. However, responding to the above statement made by Prof. Vitharana, the Vaccines and Infectious Disease Forum of Sri Lanka assured the safety of these vaccines for the use of humans including children. Issuing a statement, consultant paediatrician and Vaccine and Infectious Disease Forum President Dr. H.T. Wickramasinghe said that mRNA is not the genome. A genome consists of DNA; mRNA is not the same as DNA, and it can’t combine with our DNA to change our genetic code. “This statement could create confusion among the public and could jeopardise the Government’s efforts to vaccinate adults and children. It is the decision by the global experts on vaccinology to give the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for children taking into account their safety and efficacy compared to all the other candidate vaccines,” he mentioned in the statement.  According to Health Ministry statistics, 93.5% of the entire population over 20 years old received both doses of the vaccine and so far, and 163,789 have received the third dose or booster shot against the Covid-19 virus as of last Friday (19).  Covid-19 cases last week
Date New Covid-19 cases Deaths
15 November, Monday 931 21
16 November, Tuesday 720 18
17 November, Wednesday 728 23
18 November, Thursday 737 14
19 November, Friday 745 22
Total 3,861 98
 


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