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Curfew relief likely; Govt. squashes complete lockdown rumour
The Government yesterday squashed what they called were “rumours that had gone viral” of a complete lockdown next week with no curfew passes issued, and announced that it would consider lifting the curfew in certain districts – but after the Avurudhu period.
The announcement of a possible relaxation came following yesterday’s talks between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the GMOA and in the backdrop of the fifth death caused by Covid-19.
A 44-year-old returnee from Italy succumbed to the virus yesterday. He was admitted to the Welikanda Hospital on March 23 and later moved to its ICU. He was a resident of Homagama and had no co-morbities (other existing health conditions), according to Director General of Health Services Dr Anil Jasinghe.
When contacted by the Sunday Times, the Director of the Polonnaruwa District General Hospital, Dr. Sampath Indika Kumara, under whose mandate comes the Welikanda COVID-19 Specialized Hospital, said that the deceased developed severe pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus. This was exacerbated by a secondary bacterial infection which, however, responded well to antibiotics. The viral pneumonia led to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and respiratory failure, causing his death.
The total number of ‘active cases’ as of yesterday stood at 132 being treated for viral diseases, a majority at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) at Angoda. Twenty five patients have recovered while 273 ‘suspected’ cases are under observation in hospitals.
On the number of patients affected by COVID-19, a source said that when looking at the figures up to the end of March, 96% of them were either those who had returned from abroad or those who had contact with the returnees. The contacts were obvious. It was only in around 4% of patients that the source of the illness was uncertain.
Meanwhile a facility will be provided on Monday for pensioners to buy medicines from pharmacies in areas where the curfew is continuing. A similar facility was provided on Thursday and Friday.
“Pensioners also will be able to collect their pensions from post offices or banks on Monday”, Deputy Inspector General Ajith Rohana said.
He said other than the pensioners, elderly persons could also proceed to the pharmacy in the area with the identity card and prescriptions to buy medicines. However, if they need to travel out of the area, they would need to get police permission, he added.