COVID-19 spread limited to clusters in Sri Lanka : Dr. Herath

COLOMBO (News1st): The spread of COVID-19 in the country has been limited to clusters, the Deputy Director-General of Health Services Dr Hemantha Herath has said. "It will require at least 2 months to bring this situation under complete control," Dr Herath said on Tuesday. He denied claims that the detection of patients in several areas depicts the spread of the virus among the community in the country. Dr Herath pointed out that the patients who have been identified from various areas recently had contracted the virus from the patients belonging to the cluster in Minuwangoda. "...identifying them doesn't mean that the virus has started spreading. It is only that they have been identified in those places," the deputy director said. He assured that the country has sufficient facilities to treat COVID-19 patients as well. "We have sufficient hospitals to admit COVID-19 patients even if there is a surge in infections," Dr Herath noted adding that there is nothing to worry about that. He pointed out that authorities are taking steps to identify hospitals that can be used for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, to equip them with the necessary facilities.