Speaker seeks advise from health authorities after Dayasiri tests positive

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has sought advise from the health authorities as to whether any immediate health protocols need to be followed in Parliament after State Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara tested positive for the COVID-19, the Daily Mirror learns.

According to highly placed sources, although Jayasekara had not attended parliamentary sessions since the House convened after the New Year, he however had interacted with some MPs in some private events. 
Some of these MPs may be informed to self isolate.

Secretary of the Public Health Inspectors Union, Mahesh Balasuriya said that investigations and contact tracing was ongoing to identify those who had interacted with Jayasekara in recent days and they had found that from Jan. 2 to 4, he had met several of his supporters in his hometown, who had come to meet him for the New Year.

Jayasekara then arrived in Colombo on Jan.4 and had met more of his supporters and staff at his Ministry and had also met some of his SLFP members. 

Further, five Buddhist temples in the Hettipola division have also been informed to be disinfected, after the Minister had visited their to perform New Year rituals. 

"Right now we are still contact tracing by taking the Minister's statements and going through the CCTV footage. In the CCTV footage we found that many of his supporters had met him only for a few minutes and had their masks on. We are trying our best to identify as many as possible," Balasuriya said.

Jayasekara is currently under medical care at a hotel-turned-quarantine center in Hikkaduwa.(JAMILA HUSAIN)