Over 1,700 people quarantined - Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva

COLOMBO (News 1st): More than 1,700 people including several foreign nationals are quarantined by Monday morning, at 12 quarantine centres established across the island, said Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country now stands at 18. Director General of Health Services, Dr. Anil Jasinghe said eight new cases of the Coronavirus were reported, yesterday alone. One of those patients is a 45 year old who recently visited Germany. The remaining seven are passengers who arrived from Italy and were quarantined at the Kanda-kadu quarantine centre. They are currently receiving treatment at the Polonnaruwa Hospital. The other 10 patients are being treated at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Angoda. Meanwhile, 133 patients who are suspected to have contracted COVID-19 are being treated at several hospitals in the country. 45 patients are receiving treatment at IDH, 15 at the Negombo Hospital, 14 at the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital, 13 at the Gampaha District Hospital, 12 patients each are receiving treatment at the Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura hospitals and 4 children who are suspected to have Covid-19 are being treated at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children, among other suspected cases around the island. Two inmates who are suspected to have contracted COVID-19 have been reported from the Anuradhapura and Negombo Prisons and Commissioner General of Prisons, M.J.W. Thennekoon said, "they were sent to the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital and the Kandakadu Quarantine Centre." News 1st spoke to Dr. Ananda Wijewickreme, Consultant Physician at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, to inquire about the symptoms of COVID-19 and safety measures, and he said, the main symptoms of the virus are cough and fever, adding the cough begins with a dry cough and evolve to a cough with phlegm. According to Dr. Wijewickreme, "exceptions of sore throat were also observed in a few patients." He further said, the virus which is spread through saliva droplets maybe contracted by a person in close proximity to an infected person and the virus could remain on a surface contaminated by saliva droplets or phlegm, from an infected person. If a person is to touch the contaminated surface and then touch their nose or mouth, the virus could spread. He added the life time of the virus on a contaminated surface changes, based on the temperature of the environment, adding the virus could survive up to a maximum of 12 hours on a surface in a cold environment. The government has introduced the hotline, 117 for the public to obtain information or provide information regarding the Coronavirus.