Total positive cases of Covid-19 detected in Sri Lanka soared to 5,244 yesterday (15) after 74 more persons tested positive for the virus.

The National Operations Centre for the Prevention of Covid-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) said 68 of them were linked to the Minuwangoda cluster. Accordingly, 22 were found from quarantine centres and the remaining 46 were confirmed to be close contacts of Minuwangoda apparel factory employees.

In addition, 06 individuals who had arrived in from foreign countries had also tested novel coronavirus positive yesterday: 02 civil navy men, 01 naval defence person and 03 arrivals from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

As per the Epidemiology Unit’s statistics, 1,851 active cases are currently under medical care at selected hospitals around the country. Meanwhile, the total number of recoveries from the virus sits at 3,380.

The NOCPCO said out of the 23 recoveries reported yesterday, 16 were patients linked to the Minuwangoda cluster and the rest were virus-positive arrivals who were under quarantine.

Total Covid-19 cases registered by the Minuwangoda cluster thus far, now stand at 1,791. According to the NOCPCO, 1,041 of them are staffers of the Minuwangoda apparel factory and the remaining 750 are close contacts of the factory’s employees.

The breakdown of the surge in Covid-19 cases reported by the Minuwangoda cluster since the 5th of October is as follows:

October 5-11 (first week) – 1,186
October 12 – 121
October 13 – 90
October 14 – 194
October 15 – 132
October 16 – 68 (as of 6.00 am today)

Joining ‘Derana Aruna’ programme this morning (16), Commander of Army, Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva said, out of the 68 positive cases linked to the Minuwangoda cluster yesterday, 36 were identified from Minuwangoda, 14 were from Gampaha and 09 were from Katunayake.

Further, Senapura and Wattala areas each reported one positive case while Kandana and Colombo areas reported 03 and 02 virus-infected persons, respectively.

The Army Chief further said, when a Covid-19 patient is found, it appears to be a separate case and their contacts tell the authorities with sureness that they have not associated with anyone linked to the cluster. “We have observed that most people do not have a clear understanding of how they become a contact [of a coronavirus-infected person].”

Speaking on the recent Covid-19 case found from Tissamaharama area, he said it was confirmed that the patient is a tour guide in Yala. “This person had made an appearance at a wedding in Tissamaharama. The event had been attended by a group of people from Gamapaha that is linked to the Minuwangoda apparel factory.” He meanwhile added that one of the floors of the HNB head office in Colombo has been closed off following the detection of a coronavirus case.

The Army Chief also spoke of the Covid-19 infections found from Matugama area recently. “The owner of a bus and its driver had tested positive for the virus. The bus in question had transported passengers who visited the Colombo National Hospital. A nurse attached to the hospital who travelled in this bus was then found to be positive for the virus. It was previously reported that several persons at the National Hospital had contracted the virus,” he added.