Health officials warn of major COVID outbreak unless…..

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Health officials on Friday (21) urged people to restrict their movement if the country was to avert an explosive spread of Covid-19. They said the Omicron was becoming the dominant variant in Sri Lanka.

Medical Technical Services Director Dr. Anwar Hamdani told the media that the number of COVID cases was rising and it was an indication that the Omicron variant was spreading rapidly.

“This can be an early sign of a major outbreak in the future. We need to prepare ourselves and people must act responsibly,” he said.

Dr. Hamdani added that people should get the booster shot as soon as possible and follow health guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID. Despite the best efforts of health officials only 31% of the people had taken the booster shot, he said.

“People are not taking the booster due to various myths and rumours mainly spread through social media. People should get the booster as soon as possible. They should also adhere to health guidelines. COVID may have many variants but the way all variants spread is the same,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director General of Health Services, Dr. Hemantha Herath told The Island that there were signs that Omicron infections would spike in the coming weeks.

“In some other countries, new variants quickly assert dominance. However, I have always said that when a new variant comes into Sri Lanka, it takes a while for it to establish itself and then start multiplying. This was the same case with Alpha and Delta. So, we can’t say we won’t be affected by Omicron,” he said.

The Deputy Director General of Health Services added that despite vaccination, those with underlying conditions and those who were weak could get severe forms of COVID and some of them will die. Thus, it was the responsibility of the healthy and the active to ensure that the weak and the sick were not exposed to the virus.

“The best way to do this is to get vaccinated and to follow health guidelines,” he said.