Moves to discharge the only confirmed Chinese coronavirus patient in Sri Lanka has been delayed. The Chinese woman, who is currently placed in isolation at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (IDH) in Angoda, has recovered and was to be discharged last week. However, The Sunday Morning learnt that the decision was later put on hold as a precautionary measure and keeping in mind some concerns among the general public. When contacted by The Sunday Morning, Director General of the Sri Lanka Health Service and Chairman of the Executive Board of the World Health Organisation Dr. Anil Jasinghe said that there were various factors behind the decision to delay discharging the patient. He said that doctors had to be 100% certain that the woman was cured before she was discharged. Dr. Jasinghe said that more tests would be carried out on the patient after which a final decision would be taken. Meanwhile, the 33 Sri Lankans, mostly students, who returned from Wuhan, China and were quarantined at the Diyatalawa Army camp for two weeks, were discharged on Friday (14). The students were in good health and had not shown any signs of sickness. – Easwaran Rutnam