A total of 492 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 so far from the Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre- East Kandakadu.
Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva said out of the confirmed cases 16 are close contacts of the instructors and inmates at the Centre.
The Commander of the Army clarified that the Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre- East Kandakadu is not an Army camp, but a centre regulated under a Director-General of Rehabilitation of the Ministry of Justice.
Ninety-six persons from the rehabilitation centre were detected with COVID-19 yesterday.
Another 6 residents from Rajanganaya, who had come into contact with an instructor from the rehabilitation centre infected with the virus, were also detected with COVID-19 yesterday.
“All instructors serving at the centre who had gone on leave have been instructed to return. These officers may have travelled about. The new cases from Rajanganaya are people related to the instructor from the area or other inmates’, he said.
Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva said this situation could cause new cases to be reported from various parts of the country in the coming days.
Immediate measures to impose quarantine and conduct contact tracing have enabled us to contain the spread of the virus, he said.
The Commander of the Army further called on the public to adhere to the guidelines issued by health officials to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus within the community. (Newswire)