Legal action on violators of health guidelines

Health authorities have decided to get tough as daily infections spiral with over 500 people testing positive for the Coronavirus as of last evening.

According to Health Ministry, 516 people were detected infected, the highest number detected in recent days and the death toll had also reached 630 with five more deaths being confirmed yesterday.

State Minister of Primary Health Care, Epidemics and COVID Disease Control Sudarshani Fernandopulle told Daily Mirror that the health authorities have decided to strictly enforce the health guidelines. She said that the guidelines will be strictly enforced over the next several weeks.

The Health Ministry has also decided to take legal action against anyone violating the health guidelines. Health Ministry sources said that the authorities will also be advised to crack down on parties and events with large gatherings where health guidelines are not strictly adhered to. Social media posts showed parties and events being held in some places with little or no respect for the health guidelines.

The Health Promotion Bureau of the Ministry of Health had on Tuesday night said that there has been a rapid increase in the number of Coronavirus patients detected in Sri Lanka over the past few days. The bureau also said that there has been an increase in the number of patients being admitted to hospital Intensive Care Units (ICU).

In a warning to the public, the bureau said that everyone must act with responsibility in order to avoid travel restrictions and other strict measures from being enforced like in the past. Health authorities said that the failure to strictly follow the Coronavirus health guidelines during the New Year has led to the current situation.

The Health Promotion Bureau also said that new variants of the virus had been detected in Sri Lanka in the recent past and scientific data in this regard is currently being studied. (JAMILA HUSAIN)