5 March 2020 12:00 am
By Sandun A. Jayasekera
A total of 16 Sri Lankans and three foreigners were under medical observation by yesterday for possible COVID 19 infection at various government hospitals, but none of them found to have been positive,
They were at Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) Teaching Hospital – Karapitiya, Teaching Hospital – Kurunegala, Teaching Hospital – Ratnapura, and District Hospital – Negombo, he said. In the global scene, the number of confirmed COVID 19 infections in China had increased to an alarming 93,573 by last afternoon, while the toll of virus-related deaths stood at 3,204. However, in a positive note, the number of patients recovered from the viral infection in China also rose to 51,043.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said all air and naval passengers and tourists arriving in Sri Lanka from Korea, Italy and Iran will be put in an isolated quarantine for 15 days to ensure no one would be infected. Dr. Hasitha Attanayake, the Director IDH said that 71 patients suspected to have been contracted coronavirus were admitted to the National Infectious Diseases Institute within the past week.
However, Colombo Medical Research Institute confirmed only one person was actually infected with the deadly virus and the affected woman, a Chinese visitor, had fully recovered, the official said. Most of the patients suspected to have been infected from the new coronavirus and admitted to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Angoda, have been discharged after confirming that they are negative for the virus.