New guidelines to be introduced when curfew is lifted in Sri Lanka

Colombo, Sept 26 (army.lk) – The Home-based Integrated Patient Management System for COVID patients that got jointly underway with the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) and the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) as well as all NOCPCO Task Force members, Medical Specialists, Health Administrators, Civil and Military Medical Officers, Nurses, Paramedics, NOCPCO Officers and Other Ranks and all stakeholders came in for praise of General Shavendra Silva, Head, NOCPCO, Chief of Defence Staff and the Commander of the Army during one more meeting session of the NOCPCO Task Force, at the NOCPCO in Rajagiriya with Medical Specialist, Dr Asela Gunwardena, Director General of Health Services.

General Shavendra Silva pointed out that concerted efforts of all medical fraternity and inexplicable sacrifices of all Sri Lankans for well over a year as true sons and daughters of the soil enabled all of us to drastically minimize mortality among adults as well as morbidity numbers among the general public in the most recent past, a positive development we as a nation can be proud of.

“We need to sustain the status quo and continue with our strict health guidelines even after relaxation of restrictions on movements, public gatherings and social distancing, etc if we are determined to eradicate the epidemic once for all.”

Referring to quarantine procedures, function of ICCs and the ongoing national vaccination drive, he said that all those mechanisms worked very well towards the control of further spread of the virus.

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“Similarly, the Home-based Integrated Patient Management System for COVID patients that went ahead jointly with the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) and the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) establishing Tel No 1904 and Dr Call 247 proved a marked success and helped a lot to save lives. I must thank the SLMA for initiating the project while simultaneously providing medical accessories, such as oximeters for use among those home-based patients,” he added.

The meeting also re-visited the progress of the national vaccination drive, new quarantine procedures at the airport, decline of the numbers seeking vaccines among the young ones, new normal practices to be introduced after expiry of existing quarantine curfew, recommendations of health experts for future in the event of prevailing restrictions are done away with after 1st October as per directions of HE the President, etc.

“The Presidential Task Force, chaired by Hon Basil Rajapakse, Minister of Finance took up the question of ongoing quarantine curfew and its continuation or removal will be decided by HE soon upon his return to the country.

The marked drop of the number of the affected in the past three days as well as death rates is the direct result of long-drawn quarantine curfew which restricted public gatherings, etc and the presence of more private vehicles on roads means less public transport,” he said.

Availability of sufficient vaccine doses for foreign employees and students, the arrival of 2.7 million more vaccine doses, the lack of interest among the young to receive the vaccine, repatriation programme and PCR system at the airport, conduct of awareness projects, opening of schools under strict precautions, introduction of guidelines for forthcoming festive season after removal of quarantine curfew, etc were among other issues that were touched during this session.

At the outset, General Shavendra Silva summed up developments as regards control measures of COVID-19 across the country in the past few days and thanked the Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) and all for their support. DGHS and other attendees also joined the conversation.”

Source: Army.lk