Second case of coronavirus confirmed in Sri Lanka

A second person in Sri Lanka has tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total number of presumptive coronavirus cases in the country to two.

The Government Information Department stated that another individual who had reportedly stayed with the first Sri Lankan patient diagnosed with the virus, who is currently admitted at IDH Hospital, has also now tested positive for coronavirus.

Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe states that it has been confirmed that this 44-year-old man had tested positive for coronavirus and that he too is currently receiving treatment at the IDH Hospital in Angoda. 

He said that the patient had been admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) last evening (11) and that today he was identified as a COVID-19 patient. 

Dr. Jasinghe stated that both he and the previously identified coronavirus patient had shared a room at a hotel in Dambulla at one point and also that they are both employed as tour guides.

He added that the Epidemiology Unit has already commenced investigating into the places visited by the new patient and the people he had met and came into contact with.

Dr. Jasinghe stated that this patient is therefore the second coronavirus patient in Sri Lanka.

He said that the Ministry of Health is gradually implementing every necessary step with regard to controlling the spread of coronavirus in the country and therefore it is unlikely that there will be any effect on the day-to-day lives of the general public.