By Vyshnavy Velrajh
The latest spike in Covid cases in Sri Lanka is linked to two factories in Mahiyanganaya, Army Commander General Shavendra Silva said.
He told Colombo Gazette that a large number of employees of the two factories have been found to be infected with COVID-19, resulting in the spread of the virus.
The Head of the National Operations Centre for the Prevention of COVID-19 (NOCPC) said another reason for the high number of detections was broken PCR machines.
General Shavendra Silva said a number of PCR machines, including one in Anuradhapura have been reported to be broken at present.
“This has caused a backlog in testing samples of possible Covid-infected people, and once the backlog is cleared, results are being reported in bulks,” he explained.
The Army Commander further said the issuing of results in high numbers has caused a spike in the number of infected people over the last few days.
General Shavendra Silva said the NOCPC believes the number of positive cases will reduce over the next few days with the clearance of the backlogged PCR tests.
Commenting on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s recent announcement in Parliament on permitting the burial of the remains of Covid victims in Sri Lanka, the Army Commander said the NOCP has not been notified in this regard.
He said as a result, no action has been taken on the matter. (Colombo Gazette)