Health guidelines should be followed even after vaccine rollout – Dr. Herath

• There is no exponential growth in cases

By Kelum Bandara

People should continue to adhere to health guidelines even after the vaccine rollout against COVID-19, Deputy Director General of Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath said yesterday.

Dr. Herath told Daily Mirror that mass inoculation against the coronavirus would have a different effect in the containment of the pandemic. He said people, bar a few, had been cooperating with the health and law enforcement authorities in the fight against COVID-19.   
He said vaccination would reduce hospitalisations and strain on the Intensive Care Units.   
Asked about the rise in the number of cases, he said it had happened, as expected, because the law enforcement authorities did not place legal barriers on the movement of people during the last festive period.   

However, he said there was nothing to be concerned since the situation had not spun out of control.   
“It is well under control by the health authorities. Some people talk about a dangerous trend. Yet, there is no exponential increase in the number of cases reported on a daily basis. That is the important fact,” he said.   
Dr. Herath said the number of patients getting infected by one COVID-19 patient remains less than two as a ratio.   
“If it is more than two, the daily caseload will multiply into an exponential number. We have not reached that situation. One must remember that we maintain this situation without imposing restrictions on people’s movements,” he said.