Sri Lanka: Covid cases will rise further, warns PHIS

By Pooja Shrivastava

SRI LANKA is at a critical stage and is expected to see a further sharp rise in Covid-19 positive cases, Public Health Inspectors (PHIS) warned on Tuesday (11), adding that there is a high number of infected people believed to be moving among the community undetected.

PHIS also claimed that the prevalent third wave of the coronavirus will peak in two weeks. PHI Union Secretary Mahendra Balasooriya told Daily Mirror that they believe more PCR tests will reveal a staggering number of infections among the community.

“Our officers on the ground around the country have been informing us that there are more and more people infected on a daily basis and that it is spreading,” Balasooriya said.

Balasooriya cited the example of most family members and close associates of those infected so far who have not been tested. He added that once they are also tested, the numbers may rise further.

Western Province, including Colombo, is still a high-risk area and more testing needs to be done to detect people infected in the community, he said, adding that random testing in these areas will reveal far more numbers than present official figures.

PHIS slammed the Sri Lankan health authorities for misleading the public by saying there will not be the third wave and that the situation in Colombo is improving. They also called out authorities for not imposing tighter restrictions on travel in the country.

“Travel restrictions between provinces will not do. We need tighter restrictions or the situation will get worse,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA) has also requested the authorities to implement tighter movement restrictions like "quarantine curfew" during the upcoming long weekend.