Sri Lanka: 87 people at Treatment Centre tested positive of COVID19
In Sri Lanka, another 87 people at a Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre have tested positive of COVID bringing the total infected to 339. Earlier, 196 inmates and staff at the Kandakadu Centre were found positive this morning while 56 inmates and a counselor had tested positive yesterday in the first instance of community transmission after a gap of two months in the country.

A total of 296 new cases of Coronavirus were reported today registering a record daily high of new infections in the country. The numbers included nine arrivals from India and one from Pakistan.

Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jaisinghe has said that more PCR tests are already being conducted and there is a possibility of more COVID-19 infections. He said, the quarantine process and contact tracing have been initiated in order to prevent transmission of the virus to the society. The development has come as a setback to Sri Lanka, which has been successful in contacting the COVID spread so far.

Around two thousand people from a total of 2,100 infections had already recovered before the fresh cases surfaced from the centre. Presently, a total of 456 patients infected with the virus are being treated at hospitals from a total of 2,450 infections so far. Sri Lanka had not seen any community case for over two months and normal life is fast returning to normalcy with schools and universities beginning to open in phases. The country has seen 11 deaths due to COVID so far.

Restrict movement from hotspot cities during Eid-Ul-Azha: Bangladesh COVID-19 Advisory committee

In Bangladesh, the National Technical Advisory Committee for COVID-19 has recommended restrictions on the movement of people from hotspot cities like Dhaka during the forthcoming Eid-Ul-Azha festival. In a press statement issued after its 14th meeting on Friday, the committee said that movements from Dhaka, Chattogram, Narayanganj and Gazipur should be restricted as these cities have the maximum number of reported Corona cases in the country.

The committee expressed concern over the unhindered life in Dhaka and other parts of the country despite rising cases of Coronavirus infections. It recommended putting strict curbs on movements in Dhaka and surrounding areas.

In other recommendations, the committee has said that cattle markets should not be allowed to be set up in these cities. It asked the authorities to use a digital system for the sale and purchase of sacrificial animals during the Eid-Ul-Azha period.

In the meanwhile, the fatalities and infections continued to rise in Bangladesh. According to the latest figures of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) till Friday, the death toll due to COVID-19 has reached 2275. The total number of people infected is now 1,78, 443 with active cases numbering 89,762. However, the recovery rate has gradually improved to 48.42 percent in the country.