Army Chief on tracing origin case of Minuwangoda COVID-19 cluster

The Sri Lanka Army is currently in the process of establishing quarantine centers that can accommodate 2,000 people, stated Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva.

The Head of the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) mentioned this joining the Derana 360° political program, last night (12).

Stating that nearly 10,500 persons are undergoing the quarantine, the Lieutenant General said that the quarantine centers previously set up are not adequate.

“We have quarantined nearly 51,000 people at quarantine centers so far. There is no such thing as impossible. War heroes are prepared to quarantine any number of individuals at any given time on behalf of the people of the country.”

When asked on the origin case of the Minuwangoda COVID-19 cluster, the Army Chief said that upon investigations, 33 persons have been identified for displaying symptoms before the first Minuwangoda apparel factory employee diagnosed with the virus.

“Further investigations have revealed that cold and cough symptoms were prevalent from September 21, and sometimes even from September 15. Therefore, the employees must have contracted the disease between September 10 and 20.

Then we further reduce the number of [possible origin] cases down to 10. One of their contacts traces back to the prison. When we investigate at the prison, it is revealed that the virus spread does not go beyond that point. The inmate linked to the apparel factory contact does not have COVID-19. Even antigens were not there.

Then we abandon that route and trace a different path. Similarly, we traced back to possible links of all 10 persons. We are still investigating. We cannot exactly pinpoint the reason within these 7 days. We have been to many places. But it is not fair to pinpoint one location as the beginning without conviction.”

The Army Commander further said that while all the Armed Forces, including the intelligence services, are working on the health safety of the country, they would not pose a threat to national security in any way.