Sri Lanka extends quarantine period to a month after positive case
06 April, 2020
Sri Lanka extended the suggested quarantine period from fourteen days to four on Sunday (Apr 5) after a 34-year-old man who returned home from South Korea tested positive weekly after leaving isolation.
Army chief Shavendra Silva - who operates several quarantine facilities - told those who are completing the required two-week quarantine to isolate themselves for an additional 14-day period.
"Even those who are under self-quarantine are urged to invest another fourteen days isolating themselves," Silva said.
Although not a mandatory order, local health officials have already been told to ensure persons follow the extended isolation, official sources said.
Police spokesman Ajith Rohana said 43,500 persons who returned to Sri Lanka since Mar 11 had registered for home quarantine, and 18,000 of these had already completed the procedure.
Sri Lanka's main trade union of government sector doctors said the united states should step up testing if authorities were serious about containing the spread of COVID-19.
The condition has claimed the lives of five persons and infected at least 174 up to now.
The primary testing facility - the Medical Research Institute - has a capacity of testing 200 samples, which the doctors' union says is grossly inadequate.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com