o 85% infected show mild or no symptoms o Over 25,000 tests done for population of 22 million o At least 500,000 tests required before opening up o Public must be informed of real situ, says GMOA By Maheesha Mudugamuwa Amidst preparations to relax public health restrictions on the activities of people and businesses, health experts warn that the country still lacks adequate testing to track and contain potential coronavirus outbreaks. Speaking to The Morning, a top health official, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed that the country’s testing rate lags far below the standard amount that should be conducted in order to at the very least evaluate the impact of reopening the country. According to statistics, the country has so far conducted only around 25,000 tests for its total population of 22 million. However, the top health official warned that there was a possibility of infected persons being amongst society while not showing any symptoms right now, and this could only be ruled out after testing for Covid-19. According to experts, a lack of testing is a critical issue; at least around 500,000 tests should be conducted in order to gradually restart the country’s economy, according to him. As such, they have warned that it is too early to scale down stay-at-home orders. Meanwhile, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) also previously insisted that the testing of first contacts traced through Covid-19-positive patient evaluation should be completed before taking any decision with regard to the resumption of economic activities. GMOA Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge noted that it was important to conduct aggressive testing to rule out a second wave of Covid-19 which might result after relaxing restrictions without following scientific methods. The total number of coronavirus cases in the country increased to 774 yesterday. Among these, 549 active cases are under medical care while 215 patients who recovered from the virus were discharged from hospitals. Sri Lanka has confirmed nine fatalities due to Covid-19 so far. As highlighted by the GMOA, prior to relaxing the restrictions, the health authorities, particularly the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health, should inform the Government and the public about the true picture of the pandemic within the country, and they also need to map it out after aggressive testing. “Around 85% of those infected either show no symptoms or have mild symptoms, but still they can spread the disease. This is why testing is most important,” he explained. Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr. Anil Jasinghe was not available for comment.