90 returnees from Kuwait among COVID-19 cases confirmed so far – Army Chief

A total of 157 Sri Lankans who returned from overseas have tested positive for COVID-19 so far, says the Commander of Army Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva.

Out of this total, 90 positive cases were identified as returnees from Kuwait and 18 from Dubai, the Army Chief said speaking to Derana Aruna program this morning (26).

In the meantime, 619 coronavirus patients have been detected from Sri Lanka Navy to date, he said, adding that the community infections count stands at 405.

The returnees who tested positive for COVID-19 so far had contracted the virus even before they arrived in the country, he said further. All those who return to the country are moved to mandatory quarantine procedure and they are directed to PCR tests without delay, the Army Chief explained, speaking on the efforts to arrest the spread of the virus in the community.

Sri Lanka’s coronavirus cases count moved up to 1,182 on Monday (25) following the detection of 41 new coronavirus-positive persons. However, 695 of these patients have recovered completely.

The death toll due to COVID-19 reached 10 as a female, who had been undergoing quarantine at the facility in Trincomalee upon returning from Kuwait, succumbed to the virus on Monday evening.