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SL faces critical Covid-19 pandemic situation as positive cases approach 10,000

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Contagion has already spread to 23 districts

by SURESH PERERA

With the number of Covid-19 patients in Sri Lanka fast approaching the 10,000 mark, the country is on the verge of a critical pandemic situation, a top medical official warned.

“The danger is that countries which had reached 10,000 in terms of corona virus infected persons, had seen the figures doubling in no time”, says Dr. Jayaruwan Bandara, Deputy Director of the Medical Research Institute (MRI).

He said that many countries, which topped 10,000 Covid-19 cases, experienced an unprecedented leap thereafter with figures of patients swiftly zooming to 20,000 plus in an alarming upward trajectory.

“We have to make a concerted effort to tackle the transmission of the virus and keep the emergence of new infections at bay in a bid to overcome the health crisis”, he stressed.

Dr. Bandara said the deadly infection has already spread to 23 districts in Sri Lanka but there’s every possibility that it may have crept into the other two districts as well and remain undetected.

The government has set out a series of public health guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus, and it is important to keep in mind that strict adherence to the preventive measures will help in a big way to bring the situation under control, Dr. Bandara emphasized.

“We are doing our part, and it is in the hands of the people to prevent the virus from spreading any further through responsible behavior in the face of a grave crisis”, he continued.

The elderly should take additional precautions as the infection could prove fatal, particularly to those with underlying diseases, he cautioned.

“Hypothetically, if there are 500 positive cases in every 1,000 people we screen, there will be 1,500 patients for every 3,000. One can imagine how frightening such a scenario will turn out to be”, he elaborated.

Asked about reports on the delay in PCR reports reaching patients, Dr. Bandara said there have been complaints that some reports take as many as four to five days to be released.

“Earlier, we used to issue PCR reports within 12 hours but with the surge in the number of infected patients, there is a delay”, he said.

Asked whether a PCR screening system break down has led to the accumulation of more than 10,000 reports, he said he was not aware of it but with numbers spiraling there was cause for delays.

On whether the corona viral strain that infected people in the Minuwangoda and Peliyagoda fish market second wave had a heavier load, he replied, “Yes, the strain is stronger than the previous eruption”.

Asked whether the health authorities have “lost control over tackling the contagion”, as claimed in some quarters, the Health Ministry’s Director of the Epidemiology Unit, Dr. Sudath Samaraweera, countered “if we have lost control, we will say so”.

When asked for his thoughts on the gravity of the Covid-19 situation in the country, he said: ‘Don’t bother me. I can’t be talking to the media saying the same thing all the time. I have work to do”.

“What some of these people should realize is that the support of the media is imperative in this hour of need to create greater public awareness”, a senior medical official said.

With the virus going haywire, health officials may be under tremendous pressure, but being hostile to the media is simply counter-productive in a crisis situation, he added.

“After all, the media is not to be blamed for the mess up”.

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AG not bound by its recommendations, yet to receive report

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PCoI on Easter Sunday attacks:

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Attorney General Dappula de Livera, PC is not bound by recommendations made by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (P CoI) into the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage, or presidential directives in that regard, according to authoritative sources.

They said that the AG couldn’t under any circumstances initiate legal proceedings until he had received the full PCoI report.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa received the PCoI report on Feb 1. The President’s Office delivered a set of PCoI reports to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Feb 23, a day after the report was presented to the cabinet of ministers. The Island raised the matter with relevant authorities in the wake of a section of the media reporting the PCoI recommending punitive measures against former President Maithripala Sirisena, Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, IGP Pujitha Jayasundera, Chief of State Intelligence Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena, Chief of National Intelligence retired DIG Sisira Mendis and All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) leader and Samagi Jana Balavegaya MP Rishad Bathiudeen et al over the Easter Sunday carnage.

Sources pointed out that due to the inordinate delay in sharing the PCoI report with the AG, the department hadn’t been able to take preliminary measures required to initiate the proceedings. Sources said that a team of officers would take at least six weeks or more to examine the report before tangible measures could be taken.

With the AG scheduled to retire on May 24, 2021, even if the AG Department received the P CoI it would be quite a tough task to initiate proceedings ahead of retirement, sources said. However, in terms of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution enacted in last October, both the AG and the IGP could receive extensions beyond 60 at the President’s discretion.

 

Dappula de Livera received an Acting appointment as the AG a week after the Easter Sunday carnage whereas his predecessor Jayantha Jayasuriya, PC, was elevated to Chief Justice.

Responding to another query, sources said that the Attorney General two weeks ago requested Secretary to the President for a copy of the P CoI. However, the AG was yet to receive one, sources said. In spite of the AG not receiving a P CoI copy, the AG had instructed the IGP to obtain a copy of the report when he requested the police to complete investigations into the Easter Sunday carnage. The AG issued specific instructions after having examined police files pertaining to the investigations.

The IGP, too, hadn’t received a copy so far though some sections of the report were in the public domain.

Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage displayed at a live political programme on Derana a copy of the P CoI report he received at the cabinet meeting earlier in the day.

Sources said that the Attorney General’s Department couldn’t decide on a course of action in respect of the Easter carnage on the basis of a section of the report. In terms of the Commission of Inquiry Act (Section 24), the AG enjoyed significant powers/authority in respect of investigations; sources said adding that the Department urgently required both the P CoI report and police investigations report. The Attorney General’s Department has raised the delay in receiving a P CoI report amidst the Catholic Church attacking the government over the same issue.

Sources said that ministerial committee appointed to study the P CoI report couldn’t decide on how to proceed with the recommendations and the matter was entirely in the hands of the AG. Sources pointed out that the delay on the part of the government to release the report had received the attention of sections of the international media, including the New York Times. Public Security Minister retired Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera having met Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith at the Bishop’s House on Dec 8, 2020 said that the AG would get a copy of the P CoI report once the President received it. Minister Weerasekera said that the CID had handed over the relevant files after having completed investigations into eight blasts. Referring to the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) report on the Easter Sunday carnage, the former Navy Chief of Staff said that all such documents would have to be brought to one place and considered before initiating legal proceedings. Acknowledging that there could be delays, lawmaker Weerasekera said that on the instructions of the Attorney General a 12-member team of lawyers was working on the case. The minister vowed to expose the mastermind behind the Easter Sunday attacks. Investigations continued while some of those wanted were overseas, the minister said.

The minister acknowledged that the Attorney General couldn’t proceed without the P CoI report. Minister Weerasekera reiterated that once the President received the P CoI report, it would be sent to the Attorney General. The minister said that there were documents two to three feet high that needed scrutiny. The minister assured comprehensive investigation. The minister said that investigations pertaining to eight blasts had been completed and the reports handed over to the AG. However, the Attorney General had found shortcomings in those investigations.

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JVP picks holes in PCoI report

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By Saman Indrajith

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the Easter Sunday bombings had failed to identify the mastermind of , the JVP said yesterday.

Addressing the media at the party headquarters in Pelawatte, JVP Propaganda Secretary MP Vijitha Herath said that the PCoI report had levelled accusations against former President Maithripala Sirisena, former IGP and head of intelligence for their dereliction of duty, shirking of responsibilities and not taking action to prevent the attacks and negligence. There were reference to the causes of the terror attacks and actions to be taken to avoid such attacks and the influence of extremist organisations. “However, there is no mention of the mastermind of the attacks, the handlers of the attackers and those whose interests the carnage served. It is also not mentioned whether there has been any foreign or local organisation behind those attacks. As per the PCoI report the attack took place as a result of culmination of extremism.

“According to the PCoI the extremist activities were a result of the prevailing political situation then. The entire nation was waiting to see who was responsible and who masterminded those attacks. The PCoI has failed to identify the true culprits responsible for the terror attacks. The report says that the leader of the suicide cadres killed himself in the attacks and it was a puzzle. That means those who are actually responsible for the attacks are still at large. The report does not provide exact details of the sources of the attacks. The PCoI had sittings for one year and five months. It summoned various persons and got their statements but it has failed to shed any light on the terror attacks. Everybody knows that the top leaders of the government and heads of security and intelligence establishments failed in their duties. Ranil Wickremesinghe was the second in command and he too is bound by the responsibility but the PCoI report fails to identify him as one of the persons against whom legal action should be instituted. The PCoI has treated Wickremesinghe and former President Maithripala Sirisena differently. We are not telling that this report is a total failure but we cannot accept this as a complete report. The PCoI handed over its report to the President on Feb 1. After 23 days it was sent to Parliament. Now, a copy of the report is there in the parliamentary library for the perusal of MPs.”

Herath said that the PCoI did not have powers to take punitive action. “It only has powers to name those responsible and recommend action to be taken against those named.

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