31 July 2020 12:00 am
By Thisari Walawege and K.G. Karunathilake
The Lankapura Divisional Secretariat office in Polonnaruwa has been temporarily closed from yesterday after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19, Polonnaruwa Regional Director of Health Services Dr. W. K. W. S. Kumarawansa said.
Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr. Anil Jasinghe said the staff member was identified as positive for COVID-19 following the PCR tests carried out for the entire staff of the Lankapura Divisional Secretariat office.
Dr. Kumarawansa said the PCR tests were conducted last Tuesday and the patient was initially directed to the Polonnaruwa General Hospital and then transferred to Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH), Angoda.
Dr. Jasinghe said the staff member was confirmed to be a close associate of a COVID-19 positive patient at the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Centre.
The DGHS said they were tracing close contacts of the staff member and directing them to quarantine centres and for PCR testing.