'I COULDN'T SLEEP, SO I LEFT' ; COVID PATIENT TELLS POLICE

Colombo (News 1st);  The COVID-19 patient who left the Punani COVID-19 Treatment Facility in Valaichchenai claimed he left the premises without authorization as he could not sleep.

The 43-year-old male was reported missing from the Treatment Facility on Tuesday (19) evening and was located on Wednesday (20) morning in Eheliyagoda. The distance between Punani and Eheliyagoda is around 250 kilometers and in his statement to Sri Lanka Police, the COVID-19 patient said he boarded a Colombo-bound vegetable lorry from Punani and got off at Aluth Palama and then walked all the way to Orugodawatte. Then he boarded a goods transporting lorry heading to Embilitiya and reached Eheliyagoda. The 43-year-old male tested positive for COVID-19 on the 15th of January and was immediately moved to the Punani Quarantine Facility. Sri Lanka Police said he is a heavy drug addict and legal action will be taken against him as per the provisions of the Quarantine Regulations. Police Spokesperson DIG Ajith Rohana said a person who commits such an offense will be sentenced to 06 months in prison and will be fined Rs. 10,000 upon conviction by a court of law.