18 March 2020 02:53 pm
The World Health Organization's (WHO) Regional Director Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh has warned several South-East Asian countries including Sri Lanka to 'do more' to fight the COVID-19 outbreak which is evolving rapidly.
“More clusters of virus transmission are being confirmed. While this is an indication of an alert and effective surveillance, it also puts the spotlight on the need for more aggressive and whole of society efforts to prevent further spread of COVID-19. We clearly need to do more, and urgently”, she said in a statement.
The 11 countries in WHO’s South-East Asia region includes Sri Lanka and are home to over a quarter of the global population. Eight of these countries have confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease, namely Thailand, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.
Dr. Singh said the numbers indicate that some countries are clearly heading towards community transmission of the viral disease. (UN)