"Only Expatriates Arriving Here Confirm Positive to COVID-19 & No New Cases from Society"- Head NOCPCO

"At present, only Sri Lankan expatriates arriving in the country from overseas countries confirm positive for COVID-19 infection, and no positive cases have been reported within the country in the past couple of months after 30th April. As of today, 7058 are still in quarantine in 65 Quarantine Centres and a total of more than 32,000 upon completion of quarantining have left for their homes. Similarly, a few more than 26,000 Sri Lankan expatriates have been brought down to the country from foreign lands by today. Yet, the threat of the virus inside our society is far from eradication, and we still need to continue our health practices, although some sections appear to ignore this looming threat of its transmission. It is a responsibility befalls us. With any minor lapse on our part, it could spill over and still be transmitted to a larger community, "so warned Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, Head, National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO), Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army during Media interactions this afternoon (26) after one more review session of the Task Force on COVID-19 at the NOCPCO.

The session co-chaired by Hon Minister of Health, Mrs Pavithra Wanniarachchi and Head of the NOCPCO, Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva was attended by Medical Specialist and Acting Director General of Health Services, Dr S. Shridharan and a handful of experts and other stakeholders. The NOCPCO meeting assessed the status quo, re-visited the updates, possible new clusters and overviewed the overall picture of the epidemic in the country.

Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva welcomed the members of the NOCPCO Task Force and guests at first and stated the purpose behind the meeting.

Discussions centred on the continuous arrival of expatriates into the country. "Presently 26,000 plus expatriates have been brought down and 55,000 more are to be repatriated on staggered basis in keeping with other strategic needs and concerns. Practically, the Army deploys one medical officer to each QC in addition to security being provided to all QCs and hotels functioning as Quarantine Centres where expatriates are in quarantine," Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva said.

Appreciative of the enormous guidance, support and inspiration the Army received in the performance of this daunting national task, Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva profusely thanked HE the President, Hon Prime Minister, Health Minister, Director General of Health Services, Epidemilogists, Navy and Air Force Commanders, Medical Officers, Public Health Inspectors, Health officials, Airport authorities and all principal and ground stakeholders. "Had that solid visionary leadership not occurred, we would have had a tough time since this itself was a novel experience for the Army and the country at large," he opined.

Hon Minister of Health elaborated on the status and thanked HE the President, Prime Minister and the Task Force for making the country safer and stable in the face of the epidemic. "Sri Lanka can truly be happy as a nation who effectively mitigated the transmission of the deadly virus," she remarked.

The acting Director-General Health Services Dr S Sridharan explained about PCR tests being conducted in the government sector. The state sector increased it up to 2000 a day and the private sector increased it up to 1000 tests per day. Meanwhile, he stated that random tests are also conducted in society to ensure the safety of the community.

Source: www.army.lk