It was revealed yesterday that 81 percent of the COVID-19 patients in Sri Lanka are males. A total of 45.2 percent of COVID-19 patients are between the ages of 41 and 50 years, health sources also said.
According to the latest statistics issued by the Epidemiology Unit yesterday (20th Friday 8.30 pm) a total of 70 confirmed COVID-19 patients and 218 suspected patients are in 16 state hospitals in the island. There are 88 suspected patients at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), 12 at National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL) and 16 at Ragama Teaching Hospital.
According to the Health Ministry sources, in the current Sri Lankan context, there is no scientific justification to wear a face mask routinely by the general public. Health experts say that it is good if sick people (sick with flu, influenza etc.) and people with significantly low immunity due to special health conditions such as recent major surgeries, undergoing chemotherapy, suffering from diseases such as diabetes, etc can wear face masks while visiting public places. People should refrain from visiting public/crowded places.
According to the instructions issued by Health Promotion Bureau (HPB) Director Dr. Karunapema, people should wash hands often with soap and avoid touching the face, nose, mouth and eyes before washing/ sanitizing (with alcohol based sanitizer) hands. The mouth and nose should be covered with disposable tissue or the inner side of the elbow when coughing and sneezing. The used tissue should be disposed in a bin with a lid.
If a person suffers from symptoms such as fever, cough, cold, sore throat or difficulty in breathing, he/she should avoid visiting public places and crowded places. He/she should consult the Public Health Inspector (PHI) of his/her area immediately and then inform about any foreign tours gone in during past 15 days or any close contact with a person who returned from abroad, he said.
According to the situation report issued by the WHO on 19th, a total of 8,778 people had died due to COVID-19 and 209,839 cases had been reported from 167 countries in the world, the sources added.