COVID-19 cases top 850 on Friday as new cluster emerges

COLOMBO (News1st): The number of COVID-19 cases detected in the country on Friday rose to 865, authorities said, following the emergence of a new cluster. The government information department, in a statement, initially announced that 609 cases were detected during the day, before updating the tally to 865 after new cases emerged. Among the infections in the new cluster, 535 patients were those who contracted the virus at the Peliyagoda fish market and 217 of their close contacts. Other cases included 20 from the Beruwala fisheries harbour and five from the Galle fisheries harbour, the department's statement added. It noted that 48 cases were identified as part of the cluster that emerged in Minuwangoda. With the total number of cases in both the Minuwangoda and Peliyagoda clusters now standing at 3682, Sri Lanka's COVID-19 tally has risen to 7153.