News
Colombo SOS to young and old to enable curfew lift
From calling in all retired Public Health Inspectors to wanting medical interns to plug potential gaps in the Public Health Department, Colombo city is calling in all available resources as it juggles the need to open up after weeks of curfew yet control a virus outbreak.
The city’s fears are real as COVID numbers keep soaring: Director-General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena said most cases this week were from areas within the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC).
The national daily death toll always included one or more persons from Colombo city. Friday’s only death was a 70-year-old man from Colombo 2. Out of the total of 15,756 COVID-19 cases, 6,508 are from Colombo district, with more than 4,000 of these from CMC areas.
“There is a massive, constant operation to undertake testing, isolation and contact tracing in the city and this is primarily handled by the CMC Public Health Department. This is stretching our officials in the department to the limit as they work with very little rest and recuperation. We need to expand our human resources urgently,” Colombo’s Mayor, Rosy Senanayake, said.
Hence, discussions began on bringing in retired PHIs and deploying medical interns on department duties.
The CMC has initiated a series of free clinics and 24-hour medical advice hotlines with direct access to CMC Medical Officers after finding that most deaths in the city involved the elderly or people with chronic or long-term non-communicable diseases. A dedicated ambulance service (011-3422558) for those in lockdown areas was also introduced.
Last week, Maradana, Fort, Pettah, Dam Street and Slave Island police divisions were declared as isolated with permission for the Board of Investment, Export Development Board, essential services and courts to continue operating.
This adds to the list of already isolated police divisions of Modera, Mattakkuliya, Grandpass, Bloemendhal, Foreshore, Borella, Wolfendhal Street, Maligawatte, Keselwatte and Dematagoda in the city.
The absence of heavy traffic and bustle in the usually busy streets of Pettah, Fort and other areas was notable throughout the week while vehicles bearing state institution logos or essential services boards passed through the city’s lockdown areas. Many shops, groceries were closed. Several malls in the city were closed as well as children’s parks, and outdoor dining was limited.
The Central Bus Stand and private bus stand in Pettah, and the Fort Railway Station commenced operations this week after the government lifted the ban on those residing in Western province to travel elsewhere. However his weekend trains were not being operated.
Vegetable supply to the city was limited this week with the closure of the Colombo Manning Market.