Health Services Director General, Dr. Anil Jasinghe stressed the importance of following health guidelines and requested the people to be vigilant of Covid-19 in the same way they faced the scourge of terrorism.
He said Sri Lankans know how to be vigilant as they faced the 30-year war against terrorism and added that the country being an island is an advantage.
He said fishermen should not have contacts with those of any other country while fishing in the deep sea.
They should not cross over their boats and vice versa. No food, beverage or anything else should be exchanged at sea, Jasinghe said.
He was speaking to the media of the Government’s measures to contain the spread of the pandemic recently. Dr. Jasinghe said the main reason to halt the annual `Pada Yathra’ to Kataragama is to ensure the people’s safety and prevent Covid-19 entering Sri Lanka through foreign pilgrims.
Once a Covid-19 patient is discharged from hospital, the disease does not spread through him or her. Only two percent of vulnerable groups in the country were infected with the disease, he said.