The spread of COVID-19 in the Western Province has been brought under some control, says the Director General of Health Services, Dr. Anil Jasinghe in a statement today (01).

The statement, issued by the Ministry of Health, read that a large number of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests have been conducted in the Western Province so far, especially on high-risk groups.

However, despite the high number of PCR tests, it cannot be concluded that the situation is 100% under control now, Dr. Jasinghe noted.

The authorities have not lost control of the spread of coronavirus, he said, adding that they have actually taken control of the current situation.

Dr. Jasinghe went on to point out that predictions cannot be made about the country returning to normalcy by Monday morning (May 04).

Strict measures taken to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country will have to continue until after Vesak, the statement stressed. It is imperative to follow health guidelines during daily activities for some time even after that, it said further.

A total of 1,397 PCR tests have been carried out yesterday (30), however, in comparison, the amount of positive cases detected are small in number, says Dr. Jasinghe.

Regardless of this, the number of PRC tests conducted daily will be maintained at 1,500, he continued.

If required, there is a capacity to expand the daily amount of PCR tests to 3,000 as the universities are carrying out laboratory work.

Regardless of the type of kits used, Dr. Jasinghe says he is satisfied with the test results as the validity of results are is often checked.