"Self-Quarantining Does Not Mean that They are Positive Cases"- Head, NOCPCO

A Media briefing that took place at the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID 19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) this afternoon (13) was attended by Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, Head of the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID 19 Outbreak (NOCPCO), Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army and Medical Specialist, Dr Anil Jasinghe, Director General of Health Services.

"According to the results of PCR tests, 492 positive cases were reported from Kandakadu Rehabilitation Center of the Ministry of Justice. Out of those 492 cases confirmed positive at Kandakadu Rehabilitation Centre, a total of 429 were detainees under rehabilitation, 47 staffers and the rest, 16 were among the associates, including those from Rajanganaya area, " Lt General Shavendra Silva explained.

" Some of the stories emanate from towns, like Ratnapura, etc attribute to detection of positive COVI19 patients from those areas ,which is not the case. In fact, all those are the ones who have visited their relatives and friends under detention at the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Centre, but they are not positive ones at all as alleged in some quarters. Once Medical Officers of Health and PHIs in those respective areas are informed of those contacts who visited Kandakadu, steps have been taken to keep them in self-quarantine in their places of residence, which is sometimes interpreted wrongly as detection of a COVID 19 patient," he elaborated.

" We have nothing to hide as we convey all the details of those COVID-19 positive cases via President’s Office and also through the Government's Department of Information as we have been doing in the previous months. We will continue to do so, " Head of the NOCPCO asserted.

Source: www.army.lk