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Covid-19 infections continue to soar amidst fears of Indian variant slipping into SL
By Suresh Perera
Amidst the raging Covid-19 pandemic, which has now swept across all districts of the country, medical experts have expressed concern over the possibility of the devastating variant of the virus that has killed thousands of people in India sneaking into Sri Lanka.
The strain surging in many parts of India was found to be at least 15 times more virulent than the earlier ones. This meant it spreads even faster, has a shorter incubation period and the transmission of the infection is more rapid within the human body, according to medical officials.
“There’s a risk of the highly infectious Indian variant slipping into Sri Lanka”, says Dr. Sudath Samaraweera, Director of the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry.
“The viral strains are under analysis and we are awaiting a report on the outcome”, he told The Sunday Island.
In a bid to mitigate the risk, the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) decided to disallow Indian passengers from entering Sri Lanka with immediate effect.
CAASL Additional Director General P. A. Jayakantha said the temporary prohibition was put in place to prevent the Covid-19 virus entering the country from the Indian subcontinent.
He further said the restrictions were applied following guidelines by the Health Ministry until the next evaluation. “We have issued notice to all airlines to prevent passengers from India disembarking”.
Covid-19 infections have witnessed a steady escalation with numbers topping 1,000 per day since last week. By Wednesday, positive cases stood at 1,895 with Colombo district heading the list with 498 followed by 387 in the Gampaha district.
With the latest figures, the total number of Corona patients in the country as shot up to 119,424. But 810 patients recovered and were discharged from hospitals on Thursday bringing the total number of recoveries so far to 100,885.
Medical experts predicted that infections will cross the 2,000 mark per day as the third wave of the deadly contagion continued to rage despite concerted efforts by health authorities to arrest the alarming trend.
The number of Corona-related deaths have also climbed with 14 reported by mid week. The total number of deaths so far is 734.
With medical facilities overwhelmed, the Health Ministry has also drawn in 5,000 beds in Ayurveda hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients as infections surged. The Army has moved in to augment the existing bed capacity by building additional temporary quarantine facilities to house the galloping infection numbers. Many tourist hotels are also being used as temporary quarantine centres.
Health officials warned that patients with comorbidities (the presence of two or more diseases or medical conditions in a patient), young children and pregnant mothers should take all necessary safety precautions as they are more susceptible to the mutant identified as the UK B117 variant.
There could be more asymptomatic patients within the community than the numbers already diagnosed Covid-19 positive. Those who have undergone PCR screening should remain at home until the outcome is known to prevent infecting others, they noted.
It is also important to cut down unnecessary travel as the next two weeks will be critical in containing the pandemic situation before it gets out of control, they warned.
Under guidelines issued by the Director-General of Health Services (DGHS), all cinemas, restaurants and clubs have been prohibited from selling liquor until further notice. Tourist hotels and rest houses have been permitted to serve liquor to guests only until 10.00 pm while liquor stores can open at the scheduled time for retail sales.
In an interesting observation, Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale School of Medicine in Connecticut, says a virus replicates by hijacking its host’s cellular machinery to make copies of itself. But like a person making mistakes when they type out the same sentence over and over, the genetic copies accumulate small errors, or mutations.
“Many changes don’t affect the virus’ function, and some even harm SARS-CoV-2’s ability to multiply, but they keep happening. Viruses mutate; that’s what they do”, he noted.
The U.S. Embassy in Colombo welcomed the U.S. Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, former National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players Stephen Howard and Astou Ndiaye, from June 8 through 14.
The Public Diplomacy section of the U.S. Embassy said that it would launch a weeklong basketball program intended to harness the unifying power of sports, made possible through collaboration with Foundation of Goodness and IImpact Hoop Lab.
While in Sri Lanka, Howard and Ndiaye, both retired professional basketball players, will conduct a weeklong program, Hoops for Hope: Bridging Borders through Basketball. The Sports Envoys will lead basketball clinics and exhibition matches and engage in leadership sessions in Colombo and Southern Province for youth aged 14-18 from Northern, Uva, Eastern and Western Provinces, offering skills and leadership training both on and off the court. The U.S. Envoys will also share their expertise with the Sri Lanka Basketball Federation, national coaches, and players, furthering the development of basketball in the country. Beyond the clinics, they will collaborate with Sri Lankan schoolchildren to take part in a community service project in the Colombo area.
“We are so proud to welcome Stephen and Astou as our Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, to build on the strong people-to-people connections between the United States and Sri Lanka,” said U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung. “The lessons that will be shared by our Sports Envoys – communication, teamwork, resilience, inclusion, and conflict resolution – are essential for leadership development, community building, equality, and peace. The U.S. Sports Envoy program is a testament to our belief that sports can be a powerful tool in promoting peace and unity.”
SJB Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahuman in parliament demanded to know from the government the reasons for CEB suspending the leave of all its employees until further notice from Thursday.
MP Rahuman said that the CEB has got an acting General Manager anew and the latter yesterday morning issued a circular suspending leave of all CEB employees with immediate effect until further notice.
“We demand that Minister Kanchana Wijesekera should explain this to the House. This circular was issued while this debate on the new Electricity Amendment Bill was pending. There are many who oppose this Bill. The Minister must tell parliament the reason for the urge to cancel the leave of CEB employees,” the MP said.However, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena prevented Minister Wijesekera responding to the query and said that the matter raised by MP Rahuman was not relevant.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) successfully concluded the 8th Annual CIPM Symposium, which took place on 31st May 2024. Themed “Nurturing the Human Element—Redefining HRM in a Rapidly Changing World,” the symposium underscored the pivotal role of human resource management (HRM) in today’s dynamic global landscape. Since its inception in 1959, CIPM has been dedicated to advancing the HR profession through education, professional development, and advocacy, solidifying its position as Sri Lanka’s leading professional body for HRM.
Ken Vijayakumar, the President of the CIPM, graced the occasion as the chief guest. The symposium commenced with the welcome address by the Chairperson, Prof. Arosha Adikaram, followed by the Web Launch of the Symposium Proceedings and Abstract Book by the CIPM President. The event featured distinguished addresses, including a speech by Chief Guest Ken Vijayakumar, President of CIPM, and an address by Guest of Honor Shakthi Ranatunga, Chief Operating Officer of MAS Holdings Pvt. Ltd., Sri Lanka.
The symposium also featured an inspiring keynote address by Prof. Mario Fernando, Professor of Management and Director of the Centre for Cross Cultural Management (CCCM) at the University of Wollongong, Australia.
Vote of Thanks of the inauguration session was delivered by Dr. Dillanjani Weeratunga, Symposium Co-chair.
The symposium served as a comprehensive platform for researchers to present their findings across a wide range of critical topics in HRM. These included Cultural Diversity and Inclusion, Talent Development and Retention, Ethical Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility, Adapting to Technological Advancements, Mental Health and Well-being at Work, Global Workforce Challenges, Employee Empowerment, and Reskilling and Upskilling.
The plenary session was led by Prof. Wasantha Rajapakse. Certificates were awarded to the best paper presenters during the valedictory session, followed by a vote of thanks delivered by Kamani Perera, Manager of Research and Development.
The annual symposium of CIPM was a truly inclusive event, attracting a diverse audience that spanned undergraduates, graduates, working professionals, research scholars and lecturers. This widespread interest highlights the symposium’s significance in the field of HRM, offering a unique opportunity for everyone to network and learn from scholarly brains.The CIPM International Research Symposium was sponsored by Hambantota International Port, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), E B Creasy & Co. PLC, and Print Xcel Company.
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
