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Patient 206, who is blamed for nearly half of Sri Lankan coronavirus cases, speaks out
Under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a former army lieutenant colonel credited with helping end Sri Lanka's long civil war in 2009 with a brutal military campaign against separatists, the Indian Ocean island nation has used the armed forces to combat the virus.
When Rajapaksa was elected president last year, a health unit was created in the intelligence service that sprang into action when COVID-19 first appeared, according to State Intelligence Service Assistant Director Parakrama de Silva.
Intelligence officers, health workers, police officers and military troops have worked together to identify infected people, trace their contacts and send them to military-run quarantine centres.
After Dinesh, 33, tested positive for the virus in April, navy sailors raided his village, forcing his contacts into quarantine. But authorities have blamed a melee that ensued not on the military, but on Dinesh - and said the rumpus ended up leading to at least 1,100 additional virus infections. These cases, they publicly declared, were all linked to a single patient.
“"I can't accept that I am responsible for infecting so many, including the navy sailors,"” Dinesh told The Associated Press, after he had returned home following his release from a month-long stay at a hospital.
Before the pandemic reached Sri Lanka, resulting in an island-wide lockdown, Dinesh worked as an auto rickshaw driver. But now he's unable to find work. "No one gives a job when they realize that I am Patient 206,"” he said.
Likening him to South Korea's “Patient 31,” whom media in that country labelled a “super spreader” because she was the first person to test positive in a secretive church community where the virus was later found endemic, police spokesman Ajith Rohana said Dinesh had undermined Sri Lanka's fight against COVID-19. "“He is the turning point and has done huge damage to our country,”" Rohana said.
Authorities say that on April 5, Dinesh was caught by village residents for a robbery and handed over to police. At the station, Dinesh had a fever as well as a leg injury sustained during the robbery, so authorities admitted him to a nearby hospital, where he tested positive for the coronavirus and stayed for 31 days.
After he tested positive, the police who made the arrest, Dinesh's friends and more than 100 people in his neighbourhood were ordered to quarantine at home. But not everyone complied. Afraid that the virus would spread quickly in the congested area, Sri Lanka's navy sent in a team of sailors to help health workers. As the sailors approached, some of Dinesh's associates panicked. Of the 28 people seized from the community and quarantined, 16 tested positive.
Two weeks later, some sailors involved in the operation did, too. The first infected sailor, who was on leave in the town of Polonnaruwa, about 225 km northeast of Colombo, was reported April 22, prompting provincial health officials to isolate 12 nearby villages.
The next day, 30 other sailors tested positive. With the virus spreading to different parts of the country where sailors were on leave, authorities ordered troops from all arms of the military to report back to their camps.
Some 4,000 navy sailors were quarantined inside a single camp, while more than 200 relatives were taken to navy-run quarantine centres. At least 15 villages were isolated in different parts of Sri Lanka for about two weeks, and about 1,300 other people underwent self-quarantine.
Ultimately, about 900 navy sailors tested positive, with around 50 other infected people also part of that cluster.
Two other clusters also blamed on Dinesh had at least 150 coronavirus cases, according to authorities. Sri Lanka has confirmed at least 2,665 cases in all, including 11 deaths, meaning nearly half of its caseload has been blamed on one man - Dinesh.
“"What to do? It is our fault for using drugs?" he said, referring to his heroin habit.
Dinesh said he had been using heroin since 2002, but that he never became “a severe addict. During the coronavirus lockdown, however, he used the drug more regularly, and joined three other users in the robbery to raise money to buy more heroin.
Former Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena launched an expansive crackdown on illegal drugs, calling users “a social catastrophe,” and his successor, Rajapaksa, also has taken a tough stance.
Authorities have used the fallout from the raid on Dinesh's village to increase anti-drug crackdowns in slums and urban apartments. Officials say some 300,000 people - around 1.5% of all Sri Lankans - are addicted to drugs.
Dinesh, however, said he was no longer part of that stigmatised population. One positive of being infected with the coronavirus, he said, was that his hospitalisation helped him to kick his heroin habit. (PTI)
Marikkar appointed as SJB spokesperson!
Accordingly, Marikkar has been tasked with propagating SJB's policies to the masses and to counter opposing views against the party in an organised manner.
A seasoned campaigner with regard to the execution of political campaigns, he has decided to launch an extensive media operation to assure the victory of the 'Telephone' at the upcoming general election.
At a time when Iraj Weeraratne and Nissanka Senadhipathi have been assigned with the execution of the social media campaign on behalf of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in this general election, it is reported that Marikkar too will pay special attention to social media.
PHI Union says more than 3000 people in 16 districts directed to self quarantine
Accordingly, staff members at the Kandakadu Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre along with their family members and other close associa have been self-quarantined, the Union’s Secretary, Mahendra Balasuriya said.
Speaking to NewsFirst, Balasuriya said that the districts of Gampaha, Polonnaruwa, Galle, Colombo, Ratnapura, Kurunegala, Kalutara, Kandy, Anuradhapura, Jaffna, Kegalle, Monaragala, Hambantota, Puttalam, Matara and Matale have been identified as the affected areas.
The PHI Union’s Secretary requested the general public residing in the above-mentioned 16 districts to act in compliance with the health guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health, as further spread of COVID-19 among the community will severely impact the economic and social conditions of the country.
Postal voting begins amid new COVID-19 threat
The voting will go on for 5 days with two days reserved next week for those who fail to cast their vote this week. Over 700,000 officers who will be on election duty on August 5 are eligible to cast their vote.
The election authorities said the voting in the north central town of Rajanganaya was indefinitely postponed due to a COVID-19 threat. According to the health officials, a cluster has been forming in the area since last week with the infections from a drug rehabilitation center at Kandakadu in Polonnaruwa district.
Nearly 500 new infections, including 70 students, were detected from the Kandakadu cluster. Around 600 close contacts of those who tested positive have been sent for quarantine.
With the growing threat from the new cluster, the government shut schools this week, while main election rallies have been cancelled. The schools were only opened last week after the lockdown.
All election rallies of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa have been cancelled temporarily, the Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP) announced on Sunday, following a surge in coronavirus cases.
Although the Elections Commission has said that the election will not be postponed again, a meeting to be held this week will assess the new COVID-19 threat.
World Bank working with local communities to provide water and sanitation
That’s why Sri Lanka’s Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project (WaSSIP) works to extend access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and improved hygiene behavior for nearly 700,000 people in urban, rural and estate areas in seven districts in Sri Lanka. It aims to reach those in danger of being left out of the progress made in recent years and potentially being left even further behind by the pandemic’s devastating impacts.
WaSSIP is Sri Lanka’s third project financed by the World Bank since 1998 to provide drinking water and sanitation. It finances new water supply systems, rehabilitation of existing water supply systems, toilets for households and schools, and septage treatment plants.
Community Based Organizations (CBOs) play a key role in delivering this project. In Sri Lanka, the World Bank has worked with CBOs for decades and this experience has shown that when given access to information, and appropriate technical and financial support, CBOs can effectively deliver basic services.
To ensure sustainability, local CBOs are trained to operate and maintain the water supply systems. Each household agrees to pay a tariff that ensures that operation, maintenance and replacement costs can be covered. This allows repairs to be made as soon as something goes wrong.
A database is being developed that shows all the rural water supply systems in the country. This database allows the Department of National Community Water Supply to track the performance of CBOs and provide CBOs with the information and support that they need. A 24-hour call center has been established, where anyone can call or text for advice or to lodge a complaint for CBO-managed water supply systems.
As a trusted part of the social fabric, CBOs are well-equipped to help respond to the COVID-19 pandemic even in remote areas. The residents of Rideepana – a small village located in a highland area – were under curfew with limited ability to travel. It was a tough situation - “financially and practically, with no water to consume on certain days,” as one resident put it. However, due to the collaborative work between CBOs, the authorities and a nearby water plant, these villagers can now access clean water with which to wash their hands.
Elsewhere in Sri Lanka, a CBO that oversees a water plant funded through WaSSIP is providing water to households with motors in the areas of Polgahapitiya and Raththandeniya. This was initiated at the request of the District Secretariat for these areas to help minimize the gathering of crowds. Not only has it helped to flatten the potential curve, it has also instilled good sanitary practices amongst the community.
Changing behaviors to encourage improved hygiene practices is a key element of this project. Around 900 hygiene awareness trainings been conducted so far. Over 100,000 people have attended - 64% of them female in rural areas and 80% of them female in estate areas. Messages have been specifically developed and targeted to encourage different types of behaviors. Resources have been provided in local languages to ensure their relevance and effectiveness. And hygiene programs have been rolled out in schools so young people can share what they learned with their friends and families.
Eight schools have also been provided with improved sanitation facilities, including menstrual hygiene facilities – the first from a World Bank-funded project in Sri Lanka. Being able to manage their menstruation safely, hygienically, and with confidence and dignity is critical not just for girls’ health and education, but also for economic development and overall gender equality.
As of June 2020, WaSSIP has:
- Completed 42 new rural water supply schemes benefiting 13,538 households (with another 51 under construction)
- Completed seven plantation water supply schemes connecting 2493 households (with another seven under construction)
- Completed 93 system rehabilitations
- Completed 13,362 individual toilets (with another 10,119 under construction)
From its inception in 2015 to its closing, WaSSIP will ultimately benefit nearly three-quarters of a million people across the seven districts, including Menaka from Nartakande in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Menaka is from a family of five, all of whom have suffered from lack of access to clean water. The basic washing and cleaning necessities of her family previously meant an arduous 500-meter walk to collect water. However, thanks to a new water plant – funded by the World Bank and operated through a CBO - Menaka and her family now have access to clean water to drink, bathe and keep their household clean.
The project demonstrates a successful model of service delivery that can be continued to deliver universal access to water supply and sanitation for Sri Lanka and showcases the importance of partnerships with community organizations.
Schools shut down till July 17 amid rising threat of COVID-19
The decision to shut schools was taken following discussions with Education Minister Dullas Alahapperuma and education officials islandwide after nearly 400 patients were detected with the COVID-19 virus from the rehabilitation center within the past three days, the Education Ministry said in a statement.
"Considering the guidelines of the health and safety sectors, it has been decided to give one week leave to all schools to monitor the adverse conditions that may occur in the school sector," the statement said.
Sri Lankan schools had been shut from March but re-opened two weeks ago after authorities said they had contained the spread of the virus. However with a new cluster reported, the government said it had decided to shut schools again as a precautionary measure.
The number of positive COVID-19 patients reached 2,612 on Sunday evening after over 94 people tested positive during the day. A majority of the patients were detected from the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Center while some patients were among those who were repatriated from overseas recently.
Adherence to health guidelines at work places: President says heads are accountable
The COVID-19 virus is prone to spread among groups until adequate and satisfactory containment. Kandakadu Rehabilitation Center is an unfortunate example. Therefore the President emphasizes the necessity of continuing easily accessible tests related to clusters of people immediately.
The President made these remarks during a discussion with the Presidential Task Force to curb COVID-19 at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (14). It was reported that the Task Force had not met for more than a month prior to yesterday's discussion.
Although day to day life has returned to normalcy, precautionary measures should not be relaxed as the risk of COVID-19 spread remains high.
Tamil political prisoners raise security concerns
Twenty political prisoners from the Magazine prison have been transferred to Anuradhapura against their will, says the National Movement for the Release of Political Prisoners (NMRPP).
Prison officials have claimed that the move helps prisoners as they will be detained closer to their families. However, NMRPP maintains that the Anuradhapura prison and its surroundings are not safe for Tamil prisoners.
“Although such an opportunity exists, it has already been proven that the Anuradhapura prison and its surroundings are not safe,” Co Convener of NMRPP Rev Marimuththu Sathivel told journalists in Colombo.
In March, two inmates of the Anuradhapura prison were shot dead when staged a protest demanding release from the overcrowded prison following the hospitalisation of a detainee with Covid-19 symptoms.
Police later confirmed that prison guards opened fire to “control the protest”.
NMRPP accuses authorities of having a sinister motive in removing Tamil political prisoners against their will.
“The government views the association of Tamil political prisoners as a problem,” said Father Sathivel.
“The prisoners believe that they are been scattered to different places in order to destroy their political beliefs. They further believe that mixing them with other prisoners, not only destroys them politically, but also poses a threat to their lives.”
While the government has a responsibility of protecting the lives, Tamil politicians “who remember political prisoners only during elections” also have a duty to stand for their rights, added Fr Sathivel.
Sri Lanka liquor manufacturers cry foul over ethanol procurement directive
Sri Lanka Customs and the Department of Import and Export Control have been facilitating the release of many goods which had arrived before the temporary ban imposed following the COVID-19 pandemic, to save foreign exchange outflow and promote local industries.
However, the department is delaying the release of the majority of ethanol containers along with 200,000 other containers citing procedural and legal matters despite the Finance Ministry directive issued under the instructions of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
It has already permitted the clearing of 31 containers out of 72 imported by a leading liquor manufacturer, the Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka (DCSL) as these containers were duly licensed and approved by the authorities mid to late last year, and long before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Customs Department has forwarded some documents of the company to its legal division for perusal although its licence was to last till March 2020 and the company hadn’t opened fresh LCs or ordered new shipments following the ban, informed sources revealed.
DCSL has been prevented from purchasing ethanol from a local private company, due to the Government’s recent attempts to create a state monopoly in ethanol production.
After the ban on ethanol imports since 1 January this year, manufacturers were purchasing ethanol from Royal Casks Distilleries (Pvt.) Ltd., the only distillery that produces ethanol using maize up to the international quality standard of imported ethanol, industry sources noted.
In a surprise move, the Department of Excise has rejected a request from manufacturers to purchase over 347,000 litres of ethanol from Royal Casks.
In a letter, Commissioner General of Excise A. Bodaragama has directed the manufacturers to purchase ethanol either from Pelwatte Sugar Distilleries (Pvt.) Ltd. or Lanka Sugar Company Ltd. – Sevanagala, two state-owned ethanol distilleries.
This move by the Department of Excise was aimed at boosting the revenue of loss making Pelwatte Sugar Distilleries (Pvt.) Ltd. or Lanka Sugar Company Ltd. – Sevanagala, two state-owned ethanol distilleries creating a state monopoly, liquor companies alleged.
This directive of the Excise Department infringes with the company’s rights and excise regulations, a senior executive of a leading liquor company said.
No provisions in Excise regulations force a manufacturer to buy necessary raw materials from distilleries that are suggested or directed by the Department; it instead provides a manufacturer the choice to decide, he added.
According to official data, production capacity of five local ethanol producers is only 42 percent of the local requirement and the estimated maximum production of Pelwatte, Sevanagala, Royal cask, Hingurana and Galoya plantations is in the region of 12 million liters per annum.
Dark truth about Sri Lanka's ethanol ban revealed!
The ban on ethanol imports and the move of creating a state monopoly in local ethanol supply was aimed at flushing out existing liquor manufacturers from the arena and promoting new comers with the backing of ruling party bigwigs, industry sources claimed.
Further the delay in the clearance of ethanol tankers imported by local manufacturers placing orders and opening LC’s before the government’s ban on rectified spirit has crippled the local liquor manufactures.
While the Sri Lanka Customs claims the importation of ethanol has been temporarily banned, it has been revealed that a gazette notification in this regard has not been issued yet and the ban is being implemented on a letter sent by the Ministry of Finance on January 2 official documents revealed.
In a letter, Commissioner General of Excise A. Bodaragama has directed the manufacturers to purchase ethanol either from Pelwatte Sugar Distilleries (Pvt.) Ltd. or Lanka Sugar Company Ltd. – Sevanagala, two state-owned ethanol distilleries.
This move by the Department of Excise has bewildered the manufacturers as the restriction was neither officially announced nor pre-communicated, and is also being particularly targeted at them.
Earlier, alcohol manufacturers have been allowed to purchase from any local ethanol distillery, and If the Government sticks to the original ban, the liquor industry would cut their production, which would result in a significant loss of revenue to the Government, manufacturers added.
Manufacturers were purchasing ethanol from Royal Casks Distilleries (Pvt.) Ltd., the only distillery that produces ethanol using maize as raw material with international quality.
The Department of Excise has turned down a request from a leading manufacturer to purchase over 347,000 litres of ethanol from Royal Casks, they said.
Galoya Plantation (Pvt) Ltd. is reported to have been stock piling ethanol with a plan of opening a liquor bottling plant to enter into liquor production in a big way, informed sources said.
This company is managed as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the Government and a consortium led by Brown & Company PLC and LOLC PLC.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the excise revenue target was Rs. 130 billion, out of which Rs. 68 billion was expected from the taxation of ethanol imports. During the financial year 2018/2019, Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka (DCSL) paid Rs. 58 billion in taxes, and Rs. 64 billion in taxes a year ago.
At least 22 licensed importers have been affected by the ban on ethanol imports and a very few of their containers (1 or 2) including 41 tankers imported by Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka (DCSL) are still to be cleared by Customs due to strict procedure of the department, several importers said.
They pointed out that the directive of the President to allow clearance of the quantity of ethanol shipments arranged before the ban will fulfill the local requirement temporarily but a shortage of ethanol based products and the loss of tax revenue will be resulted in the long run.
However, with the absence of competition due to ban on ethanol imports, the ethanol produced in Sri Lanka is alleged to be of lower quality, according to several alcohol manufacturers in the country.
They noted that using local ethanol in their production process could affect the taste and result in the increase of harmful chemicals in their end product.
“Therefore the restriction on the import of ethanol needs to be restored at an early date, as otherwise the production of illegal liquor in the illicit market would flourish, resulting in harmful health effects on consumers, ”they added.
Pope Francis appoints new Auxiliary Bishop
Father Anton Ranjith Pillainayagam, a priest of the archdiocese, is the third auxiliary bishop of the metropolitan archdiocese.
The 53-year old priest has been appointed the third auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese, which is headed by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith. Father Pillainayagam was born on September 23, 1966, in Jaffna.
Father Pillainayagam is currently the vice-rector of St. Joseph's College in Colombo and director of the Tamil Theologate. He also served as the Vice-Rector of St. Peter's College from 2012 - 2014.
Mahinda Deshapriya concerned over delay in enforcing COVID-19 health guidelines for polls
Mahinda Deshapriya, Chairman of the National Election Commission, said that the health guidelines for conducting the elections were announced on June 2 but they have not been legalised through a gazette notification.
The guidelines have been sent by the health authorities to the Attorney General''s Department, which would give a nod for them to be gazetted.
“What we see now is candidates and their supporters campaigning shoulder to shoulder, they do not keep the required one metre distancing, they do not even wear face masks,” Deshapriya said.
The health guidelines require wearing face masks, frequent hand washing and maintaining one-metre distance. The number of people at poll campaign gatherings has also been reduced to a bare minimum.
The parliamentary elections in the country are scheduled for August 5 and the campaigning has been at a very low scale due to the COVID-19 pandemic compared to previous elections.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on March 2 dissolved the Parliament, six months ahead of schedule, and called for snap polls on April 25. However, the election commission in mid-April postponed the elections by nearly two months to June 20 due to the coronavirus outbreak in the island nation.
The commission last month informed the apex court that the polls cannot be held on June 20 because of the coronavirus pandemic and the new date was decided following a unanimous decision reached between the members of the commission.
The election commission held several mock polls to put into practice health guidelines and on Monday extended the poll time by one hour in view of the pandemic.
There are over 16 million eligible voters in the country. The August 5 poll will elect a 225-member Parliament for a five-year term.
Deshapriya''s comments came as Sri Lanka recorded its highest spike for a single day on Friday. As many as 300 cases were reported from a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts from the north central region of the country.
Sri Lanka has reported 2,454 COVID-19 cases with 11 deaths.
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