UK COVID variant spreading in Sri Lanka, confirms expert

COLOMBO (News 1st); The current COVID-19 variant spreading in Sri Lanka is confirmed to be variant detected from the UK, said Dr. Chandima Jeewandara, the Director of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine of the University of Sri Jayawardenapura on Wednesday (28). " The B.1.1.7 variant of the coronavirus which is spreading in the UK is 100% confirmed to be spreading in Sri Lanka. This was confirmed from tests conducted on samples obtained from Colombo, Kurunegala, and Boralesgamua," he said. So far the 1.411 lineage (Sri Lankan lineage) was spreading in the country and the UK variant was detected from quarantine centers, among those who returned from overseas, said Dr. Jeewandara adding the situation is now different with the B.1.1.7 variant spreading in the country. This is the first time the UK variant was detected from the community and it is still not clear how it entered the community, he said. 08 COVID-19 cases with the UK variant were detected from a construction site in Boralesgamuwa on the 08th of April 2021, making it the first-ever detection of the UK variant from within the Sri Lankan community, said Dr. Jeewandara.