Quarantine curfew extended till Sept 6
It has been decided to extend the quarantine curfew which is in force until 4 a.m. on September 6. The decision was taken at the meeting of Special Committee on COVID-19 Control held at the Presidential Secretariat last morning.
In view of this, the Head of the National Operation Centre for the Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak – Army Commander General Shavendra Silva yesterday urged the heads of those institutions listed under essential services to only summon the staff members who are absolutely vital for operations and to allow others to Work From Home (WFH).
The Army Commander speaking to the Daily News said staff attached to Ports and Airports and those working for the apparel industry will be able to travel to work in the same manner as in the past week.He noted that the essential services, export industry and the agriculture sector would be allowed to operate.
All pharmacies are allowed to remain open during the lock-down but, all other stores have to remain closed. “We don’t expect people to get onto the streets and they are strictly advised to remain at home,” he said.
He also said that even those with provisions to travel, such as persons engaged in essential services, should not misuse their facilities as this is a serious situation. “We appeal to the people to remain at home during this period and not venture out unless it is an absolute emergency or those engaged in essential services.”
General Shavendra Silva said existing regulations will remain in place until the 6th of September while essential services and other sectors exempted from curfew regulations can continue to function during the period.
The progress of the vaccination drive was reviewed at length during the Covid committee meeting. The President instructed to inform the Medical Officers of Health to submit requests for necessary vaccines to cover those who are over the age of 30 and not received the vaccines so far.
In the event anyone fails to obtain the first dose, it was mentioned that they are able to get the first dose from the centres where the second doses are being administered.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa pointed out that local politicians should take action to encourage the people to obtain the vaccine.
The President said the doctors and the Heads of the Health Sector who have been making recommendations on the actions that need to be taken to contain the virus should continue to pay constant attention to necessary actions that need to be taken in the future as well.
If anyone over the age of 60 or suffering from non-communicable diseases has contracted the virus, they should be hospitalized immediately. The President pointed out that such patients are being discharged early after being recovered following proper medical treatment.
The attention was also paid to the issues concerning the death of persons who are not COVID-19 patients and no one in the family is being quarantined and the need to continue with the decision to conduct the last rites within 24 hours.
The measures taken to meet the daily needs of the people during the quarantine curfew period were reviewed and the President emphasized the need to pay special attention to the daily wage earners and low-income earners.
Minister Basil Rajapaksa pointed out the need to control the pandemic while managing the national economy as well.
Minister Bandula Gunawardana explained the programme implemented by the Sathosa to provide essential food items to the people at concessionary prices.
State Minister Sisira Jayakody described the projects implemented by the State Ministry of Indigenous Medicine to provide Ayurvedic medicines to the people covering the entire country to boost immunity.
Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said that all state and private media institutions are committed to carry out their responsible media duty by constantly educating the public on the pandemic and the steps that should be taken to protect from it. The Minister also said that the initiatives in this regard will be coordinated by the Ministry of Mass Media.Specialist Dr. Prasanna Gunasena, member of the Special Committee on COVID-19 Control, said that it is the responsibility of the public to protect themselves from this virus by adhering to proper hygiene practices.
source https://www.dailynews.lk/2021/08/28/local/257836/quarantine-curfew-extended-till-sept-6
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