COVID-19 situation can be controlled by December end if not for another super spreader event-DG Health

• Active sub-clusters exacerbated by infected persons who moved out from lockdown areas

By Kelum Bandara

Director-General of Health Services Dr Asela Gunawardane said yesterday active sub-COVID-19 clusters in the country had been triggered by infected persons, who moved out of the isolated areas to other parts of the country. 

Dr Gunawardane told Daily Mirror all the cases could be linked somehow or other to the Peliyagoda fish market, which was a super spreader.

“The areas with people who got into contact with the fish market were isolated. However, some people have moved out from these areas to other parts of the country leading to the emergence of new clusters,” he said.
New COVID-19 patients have been identified in recent days from areas localities such as Kandy, Atalugama in the Kalutara District and Akkaraipattu in the east.

Ruling out a community transmission, he said the COVID-19 situation could be contained by the end of this month unless another super spreader event did not take place all of a sudden.
Asked about the origin of the eruption of cases within the prison system, he said that they suspected imprisonment of an infected person might have caused the outbreak
“We suspect imprisonment of an infected person might have caused the outbreak. We are yet to establish it. Now we don’t waste our time and energy in tracing the point of origin. We have a whole lot of work to do,” he said.
Commenting on the detection of infected health workers at the Kandy general hospital, he said those infections would have been caused by a virus career from the Akurana area who visited the hospital.
Referring to the rise of fatalities, he said the actual number of deaths occurred due to COVID-19 pneumonia was fewer.

• New COVID-19 patients have been identified Kandy, Atalugama in the Kalutara District and Akkaraipattu in the east

“Deaths have occurred to most infected persons due to underlying health conditions exacerbated by the virus,” he said.

BLURB
The areas with people who got into contact with the fish market were isolated. However, some people have moved out from these areas to other parts of the country leading to the emergence of new clusters 
BLURB
We suspect imprisonment of an infected person might have caused the outbreak. We are yet to establish it. Now we don’t waste our time and energy in tracing the point of origin. We have a whole lot of work to do