Sri Lanka ‘has capacity to provide COVID-19 treatment facilities’

COLOMBO: Prevention is the best way to manage a pandemic like COVID-19, State Minister of Primary Health Care, Epidemics and COVID Disease Control Dr. Sudarshani Fernandopulle stressed.

“Unfortunately, most of the people in our country are inquiring about the government’s capacity to treat COVID patients including the number of beds, oxygen and other things without fulfilling their responsibility of taking precautions to prevent the spread of the virus,” she said.

Dr. Fernandopulle said that the government has the capacity to provide treatment facilities for the infected people and has already taken all necessary measures to manage the situation. But if the people continue to act irresponsibly, the country could not be able to manage the crisis.

Addressing the media, the State Minister said that the third wave of COVID-19 occurred after April 15 and that the spread of the disease was faster than ever before due to the behavior of the virus and the constant changes in the virus.

This situation is not unique to Sri Lanka and it is a problem faced by the entire world and the behavior of the people is particularly influential in the spread of the disease, said the state minister.

The new strain of the virus has been identified in Sri Lanka and 31,616 patients have been identified so far in the third wave, she said.

The minister said that with the change in the behavior of the new wave, there would be a rapid spread and there would be more complications and a need for more oxygen.

The best way to prevent infection from COVID-19 is to avoid being exposed to the virus. So the people should wear two face masks, maintain social isolation, avoid places where people congregate unnecessarily, wash hands frequently with soap, and avoid unnecessary trips, except when essential.