State Minister of Primary Health Care, Epidemics and COVID Disease Control Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle told The Morning today (26) that while the new strain of Covid-19 has increased the requirement for ICUs in the country, the situation is manageable as of now. According to the Minister, the Ministry of Health is already working on the increased requirement for ICUs and has increased the ICU capacity in Anuradhapura just yesterday (25). She also added that certain ICUs in the country which were not functioning in the past due to lack of nursing staff are to be brought back to functionality. However, she urged the public to understand their civic responsibilities as well, “The public should know that the requirement for ICUs in connection with this new strain is much higher than before. ICUs require a lot of equipment and manpower to run. People need to consider these factors and take precautions,” she said. Regardless of the increased numbers, the Minister also said that because of the efforts taken by the Government, the situation is manageable for now. When asked about whether this new variant was imported or if it had mutated locally, Dr. Fernandopulle stated that Prof. Neelike Malavige (Professor and Head of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine - University of Sri Jayewardenepura) will confirm this in about ten days time.