3 February 2021 09:31 am
The prevailing Covid-19 quarantine process should be reviewed and revised in order to further improve such measures by appointing a special committee, Army Commander General Shavendra Silva said yesterday.
This was discussed at the Covid-19 prevention Task Force meeting attended by General Silva, State Minister of Primary Health Care, Epidemiology and Coronavirus Disease Control Dr. Sudarshani Fernandopulle, Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr Asela Gunawardena and all members and experts in the field at the NOCPCO.
General Silva, told the meeting that in the past five days alone, more than 800 new cases were detected, majority being from Colombo, Gampaha and Kandy areas.
He also said that manageable numbers of tourists arrived in the country to fit with their capacity and guidelines were followed.
"The number of expatriates returning home stood at 500-800 persons per day in the past week,"he said.
Referring to the Covid-19 vaccination, Army vaccination process of front line soldiers continued and over 7,000 per day were vaccinated in Army hospitals, and the project is now nearing completion.
The meeting in general touched on the ongoing effective vaccination process, random PCR test systems, current state of patient management in hospitals and Intermediate Care Centres, difficulties in directing positive ones to Quarantine Centres, the status quo in Colombo Municipal Council city area and the course of action that could be taken to restrict large gatherings due to risk factors, and the ongoing repatriation process.
The Task Force closely reviewed new developments and emergency measures in the face of detection of more and more positive cases. Management of isolated areas and locations, infiltration of the virus into new areas, behavioural patterns of the public, conduct of essential services in restricted areas, etc were also discussed during the meeting.