9 November 2020 12:00 am
By Yohan Perera
Contradictory statements made by health authorities and others in the government with regard to COVID-19 could lead to a greater disaster especially after the lifting of quarantine curfew, United National Party (UNP) said yesterday.
A statement issued by UNP’s media unit on behalf of the party leaders said confusion will lead to disaster if steps are not taken to clear the confusion created by contradictory statements by various sources.
“Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Sudath Samaraweera recently said there is no necessity to carry out a second PCR test on COVID-19 patients who do not show symptoms. He said they could be discharged from hospitals, if they do not show symptoms after 10 to 14 days since the detection.
However, experts at the University of Sri Jayawardenepura had confirmed that the virus load with this particular kind of strain is high and a person could show symptoms even after 21 to 28 days since the date of the infection. Therefore, one wonders on the rationale behind discharging patients after 10 to 14 days if they do not show symptoms,” the UNP Leadership questioned.
“The most confusing situation is the remarks made by others in the government, claims that a second PCR test is compulsory for an infected person. Therefore, it is important to get rid of this confusion especially in a situation where quarantine curfew is lifted. If the confusion is not cleared, the situation could lead to a greater disaster after quarantine curfew is lifted today,” the statement added.