Sri Lankan hospitals prepare for surge in Covid-19 cases: Top health official

Colombo, August 5

Hospitals in Sri Lanka have started preparations to face the current surge in the number of Covid-19 cases, deputy director general of health Dr Hemantha Herath said on Thursday.

Most hospitals in the country have exceeded their capacity even as some patients are forced to sleep on floors, according to social media reports.

Herath, responding to reports that hospitals have exceeded their capacities, said that urgent steps are being taken to expand the number of Covid-19 wards and beds.

“What has been exceeded is the facilities available in the Covid wards,” he said.

The corridors of some privately-run quarantine centers have also been occupied, according to social media reports.

Herath said the situation should improve with the ongoing vaccination process.

“People who have fallen sick are mostly who have not had their vaccinations,” Herath said.

Health officials said Sri Lanka on Wednesday recorded its highest single-day fatalities since the pandemic broke out last year, with 82 deaths.

Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi told Parliament on Thursday that over 45,000 children have been infected with the contagion. Among them were 19,688 below 10 years.

In the main hospital of the southern province, at least 220 patients are being treated against the capacity of 129 while in the southwestern Ratnapura hospital, over 100 people are being treated against the capacity of 70 beds.

Over 150 patients are admitted to the central province's Kandy hospital, which has a capacity of 54 beds.

The 160-bed Colombo South hospital of Kalubowila has 250 patients. A 330-bed Covid special hospital in Colombo has exceeded its capacity, officials added. — PTI 

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