News

The Director General of Health Services has confirmed another 23 coronavirus related deaths for November 05, raising the country’s death toll due to the Covid-19 pandemic to 14,484.

The deaths reported today include 15 males and 08 female patients while three of the deceased are between the ages 30-59 years. The remaining 20 victims are in the age group of 60 years and above.

Veteran stage, film and teledrama actor Sarath Chandrasiri has passed away.

He had been ill for a long time and passed away at the Colombo National Hospital at midnight yesterday (03).

He was 57 years old at the time of his death.

The Director General of Health Services has confirmed another 21 coronavirus related deaths for November 04, increasing the death toll in the country due to the virus to 14,461.

The deaths confirmed today include 14 males and 07 females while three of the victims are between the ages 30-59 years. The remaining 18 are in the age group of 60 years and above.

The power supply to several parts of the country will be suspended for around one hour for few days from today (4), the Ministry of Power and Energy said.

Accordingly, the power supply could be suspended between 6.00 pm and 9.30 pm for a few days daily until the Norochcholai Power Plant is fully functional.

Operations at all electricity grid sub-stations were brought back to normal yesterday following the power outage.

However, the ministry said that the Norochcholai Power Plant was also disrupted due to a power outage and it would take at least three days to be restored.

Another person who was injured in the ferry accident in Kinniya - Kurinjankarni Lagoon has died at the hospital this morning (05), reports say.

The deceased has been identified as a 42 year old woman.

Another 6-year-old girl who was hospitalized in a ferry accident in Kurinjankarni Lagoon also died on the 28th of November.

The accident took place when the ferry capsized at around 7.00 am on the 23rd of November, killing six people, including four school children.

About 25 to 30 people were on board the ferry at the time of the accident and several others, including school children, were hospitalized with injuries.

Meanwhile, the Kinniya Mayor, the owner of the ferry and the two operators were later arrested and remanded in connection with the incident.

The Kinniya Kurinjankerni Lagoon Bridge, built in 1977, collapsed six years ago.

The Director-General of Health Services has confirmed another 20 coronavirus-related deaths for December 02, increasing the death toll in the country due to the virus pandemic to 14,419.

According to the figures released by the Govt. Information Department, the deaths reported today include 09 males and 11 females.

Six of the patients are between the ages 30-59 years while the remaining 14 are in the age group of 60 years and above.

A first information report (FIR) has been registered against 900 workers of Rajco Industries garment factory in Sialkot for murdering their Sri Lankan general manager Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana.

The Sialkot police arrested 235 people, including those who tortured him and recorded videos, dawn.com reports.

The FIR was registered against the 900 workers under the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The applicant admitted that the protesters had slapped, kicked, punched and hit the deceased with sticks in his presence, and dragged him out of the factory on Wazirabad Road where he died.

They then set the body on fire.

The SHO said he was helpless in front of the mob owing to shortage of personnel.

Sialkot police are conducting raids in the city, adjoining villages to arrest the booked 900 suspects.

Police are trying to identify the culprits through CCTV footage from the factory cameras as well as video clips that have gone viral on social media.

The 230 arrested include two main suspects, Mohammad Talha and Farhan Idrees, and all of them have been shifted to an undisclosed location.

Rajco Industries remained closed yesterday, and its workers were on the run to evade arrest.

The Sri Lankan’s post-mortem was completed at Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital in Sialkot according to which most of his body was burnt and several bones were broken due to the torture he suffered, said hospital sources.

The remains had been transported to a Lahore hospital amid tight security, and after fulfilling formalities, would be sent to Colombo.

Local businessmen also hung pictures of Mr Kumara outside the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry and laid garlands on it.

Quoting unidentified police sources, Geo TV said some factory workers disliked the deceased general manager, a textile engineer, for being strict in enforcing discipline.

After a routine inspection on Friday morning, he had snubbed the sanitary staff over poor work.

The channel further reported that as the factory was about to undergo a whitewash, the manager started removing posters from walls.

As one of the posters was an invitation to a religious moot, some workers objected to it.

The channel’s sources said Diyawadana offered an apology, but a supervisor instigated the workers, who attacked him.

He ran to the roof and tried to hide under solar panels, but the enraged workers got hold of him and killed him there and then.

Sri Lanka has confirmed its first case of Omicron Covid-19 variant, the Health Promotion Bureau announced on Friday (03 December).

The virus strain was detected in a Sri Lankan national who recently returned to the island on November 24 from Nigeria, according to Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Samitha Ginige.

The 25-year-old female in question is currently under quarantine. She is reportedly a resident of Marawila area.

In a statement, Deputy Director of Health Services, Dr. Hemantha Herath said the Omicron case was detected as a result of the stringent surveillance conducted by the health authorities.

He told the general public that this is not a reason to panic or to have any undue fears.

Meanwhile, at a media briefing organized by the Presidential Media Center (PMC) yesterday, the health officials noted that Sri Lanka has an accurate understanding regarding the spread of the new Omicron variant and that laboratory facilities are available to identify the virus through genetic analysis.

South Africa alerted the World Health Organization (WHO) about a new highly mutated SARS-CoV-2 variant on 24 November. More than 30 countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Japan have since detected the variant.

Initial evidence suggested that Omicron has a higher re-infection risk. However, scientists said it would take at least three weeks to know how the heavily mutated variant impacts the effectiveness of various vaccines.

As the Omicron continued to spark serious global worry, dozens of countries moved to implement travel restrictions to guard against Omicron variant.

Sri Lanka also barred the arrival of foreign travellers who have been to six countries in the African continent. Accordingly, passengers with a travel history – including transit – to South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini (Swaziland) within the past 14 days were denied entry to the island nation with effect from midnight on 28 November.

The Director-General of Health Services has confirmed 21 more coronavirus-related deaths for December 03, increasing the death toll in the country due to the virus pandemic to 14,440.

According to the figures released by the Govt. Information Department, the deaths reported today include 17 males and 04 females.

Six of the patients are between the ages 30-59 years while the remaining 15 are in the age group of 60 years and above.

The Director-General of Health Services has confirmed another 27 coronavirus-related deaths for December 01, increasing the death toll in the country due to the virus pandemic to 14,399.

According to the figures released by the Govt. Information Department, the deaths reported today include 16 males and 11 females.

Eight of the patients are between the ages 30-59 years while the remaining 19 are in the age group of 60 years and above.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya Parliamentarians today (04) decided to refrain from attending Parliamentary sittings until the safety of opposition MP’s is assured.

A tense situation arose in Parliament today (04) when an exchange of words took place between opposition MP Manusha Nanayakkara and State Minister Kanchana Wijesekara, in connection with a scuffle that broke out between Government and Opposition Parliamentarians yesterday (03).

The Government had objected to allowing Opposition MPs to speak during the budget debate after 5:00 p.m. yesterday (03), and the matter came up for discussion today as well.

The Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella alleged that the Government MP’s came over to their side and have attempted to attack Opposition MP’s, with actions such as pushing. Kiriella also requested the Speaker to attempt to control the situation, and stated that the Government MPs also asked the Speaker yesterday (03) to not to allow Opposition MPs to speak during the debate.

The Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana responding to the allegations stated that such action is completely wrong, to which the Chief Opposition Whip responded stating that the Speaker is being influenced by the Government.

Leader of the House Minister Dinesh Gunawardana speaking stated that the Opposition members ran towards the Speaker first, and emphasized that it is their duty to support the Speaker in conducting Parliamentary proceedings.

SJB MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara speaking at the Parliament stated that the group that once hurled chilli powder is raising its head again, and alleged that the ruling party MPs came and started attacking them initially.

Minister Dinesh Gunawardana also speaking stated that if one cannot follow the Speaker’s orders, that person will have to face the repercussions of their actions.

At this instance, MP Manusha Nanayakkara said that he did not threaten anyone, but simply asked a question, at which point the Chief Government Whip scolded him with foul language and MP Kanchana Wijesekara pushed him aside.

“I would have fallen if not for Dr. Harsha de Silva and the Serjeant at Arms,” he stated.

Chief Government Whip Minister Johnston Fernando alleged that the Opposition is behaving like children and requested the Speaker to investigate MP Manusha Nanayakkara.

Speaking in Parliament after the lunch break, Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella said SJB MPs have decided to boycott Parliament, citing the attempt by Government MPs to attack MP Manusha Nanayakkara

Moreover, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya Parliamentarian Manusha Nanayakkara who was accused of leveling threats, convened a media briefing today (04), and alleged that the Government is attempting to pillage the country by moving towards dictatorship and to suppress the Opposition.

Challenging the Government to visit villages if possible to ascertain the people’s reactions, MP Nanayakkara said that the Government is trying to silence the Opposition to refrain them from informing the people about fraud which the Government is part of.

News 1st

Two men in the southern Indian state of Karnataka have tested positive for the Omicron coronavirus variant after returning from overseas.

The men, who are 66 years and 46 years old, are currently under observation, a government spokesperson said.

These are the first cases of the new Omicron variant to be reported in India.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Omicron poses a "high infection risk".

Officials said all primary contacts and secondary contacts of the two men have been traced and are being tested as well.

Six samples from people who tested positive for Covid-19 in the national capital Delhi, and another six samples from the western state of Maharashtra, have all been sent for genome sequencing to determine the variant. Officials are still awaiting results. Several other cities and states are following suit.

Starting Wednesday, India announced new travel restrictions for international passengers arriving from "at risk" countries a list that includes UK, South Africa, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Israel.

They will be tested on arrival and cannot leave the airport without their test results. Those who test positive will be isolated and treated, and their samples will be sent for genome sequencing. Those who test negative must quarantine at home for seven days and get tested again on the eighth day.

Different Indian states have announced different policies for travellers - all passengers flying in to Maharashtra from "at-risk" countries will have to spend seven days in institutional quarantine. Delhi and Karnataka have said all international passengers will have to undergo PCR tests on arrival.

"We are immediately checking suspicious cases and conducting genome sequencing," health minister Mansukh Mandaviya told Parliament on Tuesday.

"We have learnt a lot during the Covid crisis. Today, we have a lot of resources and laboratories. We can manage any situation," he added.

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the country's public health preparedness, and urged people to continue following Covid safety norms.

(Source : BBC)