The COVID-19 vaccination programme will be expanded to cover more vulnerable regions/districts with high numbers of infected, Chief of Defence Staff, Army Commander and Head, National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) General Shavendra Silva attending a NOCPCO Task Force meeting on Wednesday (20).
He said this would be done after identifying the most sensitive and vulnerable areas as more vaccine stocks are set to arrive in the country.
“The President has been assured a stock of 500,000 more vaccines as a donation after the Chinese Ambassador in Sri Lanka had a meeting with the President’’.
The Army Commander thanked all health workers, members of Armed Forces, Police and all stakeholders for their immense and invaluable contribution to the national need to control the spread of the deadly virus at this critical hour and mentioned that three types of Isolations of GN Divisions/Police Divisions are now implemented with the imposition of travel and movement restrictions. He also told the attendees about consequences of such restrictions as well as public responses to those gestures.
The Army Commander also briefed the Task Force meeting on the proposed travel restrictions that are in force since last night (May 21) and will continue until 4 a.m. on May 25 and are to be re-imposed from 11 p.m. on May 25 to 4 a.m. on May 28, 2021. He also briefed about the progress of isolation practices and removal of such isolations in the country whilst monitoring this situation closely.
General Shavendra Silva also lamented about certain reports being circulated which give wrong interpretations of certain interested parties about ‘home-confined’ quarantine procedures.
“We adopt three steps once positive cases are reported since the Medical Officer in charge of the area would discuss with the patient and decide if its symptoms are to be treated in hospitals or otherwise. They will be sent to the hospitals for treatment.”
“We have Army doctors together with an ambulance service helping out with the COVID-19 treatment process. This will be introduced as a pilot project in Kalutara which will be reviewed after three days. Attention was also paid to the smooth operation of the COVID-19 mitigation programme with the onset of monsoon rains.
Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardene and other stakeholders were present.
