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PHIs lament non-banning of Avurudu festivities

06 Apr 2021

  • Medical lab techs urge more testing

  Health authorities should have banned the conduct of outdoor Sinhala and Tamil New Year Avurudu festival games and events where large numbers of individuals would gather, according to the Public Health Inspectors (PHI). Speaking to The Morning, PHIs’ Union of Sri Lanka (PHIUSL) Secretary M. Balasooriya said that the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health for the upcoming festive season are not practical at all. “The health authorities have appealed to the public to minimise visiting relatives’ places and exchanging confectioneries with neighbours, as well as to refrain from conducting outdoor Avurudu games and festivals where large numbers of individuals gather. But how can you restrict people by doing such during this festive season? We would recommend at least a travel restriction,” he said. Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena issued health guidelines on 3 April in view of the upcoming festive season. Accordingly, the members of the public have been urged to celebrate the festival and to observe the traditions and rituals at home. They have also been requested to stay home during the inauspicious time (punya kaalaya and nonagathaya) as much as possible. When visiting religious places during the inauspicious time, people are required to follow health and safety precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19. As per the guidelines, the public has been requested to only spend time with their immediate family members, or those who are in close contact with them. Dr. Gunawardena also issued separate instructions for the organisers, participants, and spectators of Avurudu games. Pointing out that there are many unidentified Coronavirus-infected persons in the country, Balasooriya said that there is a high risk of the virus spreading throughout the country after the New Year season. “The Health authorities want to show Sri Lanka’s declining Covid-19 cases, but the true fact is that the number of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests being conducted has decreased. There is no scientific evidence to show that the cases have reduced,” he stated. According to Balasooriya, in the latter part of February 2021, a sharp decline was observed in both cases and tests. “This is due to the decline in testing.” he added. Speaking to The Morning, College of Medical Laboratory Science and Association of Government Medical Laboratory Technologists President Ravi Kumudesh claimed earlier that the Government purposefully reduced and discouraged the number of PCR and rapid antigen tests (RATs) conducted, in order to show positive results of the vaccine. “With daily Covid-19 cases increasing at the time, the Health authorities had decided to conduct 1,000 RATs and 20,000 PCR tests. The random RATs were part of ongoing efforts to detect and contain the virus, whereas we don’t see any ongoing tests at the moment, and we see only 10,000 PCR tests being done per day. But this should be increased up to 25,000,” he stressed.


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