I would like to request the Health Ministry to at least provide the common facility to get tested for Covid, with a simple Rapid Antigen test as it is a responsibility of the Government, said the President of the Association of Health Professionals, Ravi Kumudesh.

He mentioned this while speaking to The Morning today (17).

When asked about the currently spreading Covid variant he stated that no test had been done in Sri Lanka to identify the variant and therefore, it could be one or more variants.

He also stressed that not engaging in gene testing could bring unfortunate consequences as we are unable to identify the virus variant.

"During the past few years, whenever a patient entered a hospital he would get tested for Covid, because it was the top priority, but now it is not tested even during the final stages," Kumudesh said.

He also stated that Covid has become a low priority although the virus continues to spread again.

He was asked about the Covid death rate this year to which he replied " Sometimes patients die without getting diagnosed for Covid, as they get tested for every other disease like Dengue, Malaria etc. except Covid, therefore the reports on Covid deaths are not realistic," he noted.

"If a doctor cannot find a reasonable cause for a death he would try doing the Covid test, but there aren't enough facilities for that either, and the patients death will be recorded for a different cause. Therefore my belief is that there can't be deaths that are ruled out as Covid deaths at this point," Kumudesh further noted.

He also encouraged wearing masks to ensure one's own safety.