Fears of spreading COVID-19 to low-risk areas: GMOA

There is a possible threat of COVID-19 spreading from Western Province to other areas, where the risk is low, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) said.

Addressing the media, GMOA Editor Dr. Haritha Aluthge said the spreading of the virus was mainly found in the Western province, but the emergence of new positive cases shows vast spreading among other areas too.

He said the total number of COVID-19 cases has exceeded 30,000 in the country. 

“While comparing with other countries, the spreading of virus is quite rapid, as it has reached a record 30,000 cases,” he said.

Therefore, the attention should be focused on the emerging positive cases detected from other districts, such as Kandy, Bandaragama, Eastern Province, Puttalam and Galle, Dr. Aluthge said.

He said the two festive seasons, Christmas and the New Year's Eve (Dec.31) are celebrated this month.

Therefore, the GMOA requests the people to celebrate the upcoming Christmas season responsibly.

"During the past few months, no one in the country was able to celebrate any festivals because of this pandemic situation. Irrespective of a person's nationality, religion or any other status, the virus treats everyone alike,” he said.

Therefore, the people should act responsibly during the upcoming festivals, Dr. Aluthge added. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)