Surge of COVID cases in Colombo city: CMC teams up with SIS

The Colombo Municipal Council ( CMC) is working with the State Intelligence Service ( SIS) to identify areas of possible COVID- 19 transmission after a recent surge was reported from the city, Colombo’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ruwan Wijeyamuni said.

Of the five deaths reported on Friday ( 13), three were from Colombo and on Thursday another two deaths were reported from the city. Colombo city has reported about 4,000 COVID-19 cases in the second wave. The country's death toll has reached 53.

Dr. Wijeyamuni said testing and monitoring had been increased after several employees of star class hotels, leading supermarket outlets and the Colombo Port tested positive for the virus. Several isolated COVID cases have been reported from apartments in Colombo 02, Colombo 07 and Colombo 01.

“With heavily populated high risk areas being declared isolated, we are also focusing on other areas within the city. The city attracts about 500,000 people on a normal day and has a resident population of about 600,000. Measures are being taken to prevent a Colombo cluster,” he said.

Of those who died, a majority were in the 60-80 age group and were suffering from chronic and non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure. They died of pneumonia or heart attacks triggered by the virus.

Colomobo's Fort, Maradana, Pettah, Slave Island and Dam Street areas have been declared isolated areas from 5 a.m. tomorrow until further notice. The isolation in force in some areas will continue to remain while it will be lifted in some other areas from tomorrow.

The Minuwangoda and Peliyagoda clusters have reached 12,690 cases and bringing the total number reported in the country to 16,190. Of this total, 11,030 have been treated and discharged while 5,107 are at hospitals and treatment centres, according to the the National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID 19.

Meanwhile, 214 more COVID positive cases were reported yesterday.