Investigation to find passengers entered SL from risk countries during last 14 days: Sudarshani

The Health authorities are investigating whether any individual or party visited Sri Lanka during the last 14 days from countries where the new Omicron COVID-19 variant was preading, State Minister Dr. Sudarshani Fernandopulle said today.

She told Parliament that Sri Lanka has banned visitors from 15 countries which are at risk of the new Omicron variant, since last Sunday (28) to prevent the new dreaded variant from entering the country.

Speaking during the committee stage debate of the Health Ministry, she said surveillance and gene sequencing methods are being followed to detect the new variant.

She said the World Health Organisation was yet to determine the danger of the variant's spread and how it would affect mortality rate.

The Minister said however, the patient management and treatment methods are the same as in other variants and added that the WHO had highlighted that it is important to follow health guidelines such as wearing facemask, maintaining one meter-distance and receiving vaccines.

She said around 62.7% of the total population have already been fully vaccinated in Sri Lanka.(Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera)