New and more potent strain of coronavirus detected in Sri Lanka: Immunologist
Colombo, Apr 24: A new coronavirus strain that is airborne and more potent than all those found previously in Sri Lanka has been discovered in the island nation, according to a top immunologist here.
The variant, which is highly transmissible, can remain airborne for nearly an hour and is spreading fast, Neelika Malavige, the head of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Sciences of the Sri Jayawardenapura University said.
This variant of coronavirus is more highly transmissible than all found so far in the island. The new strain is airborne, the droplets can remain airborne for nearly an hour, Malavige said.
Health authorities feared that the new variant is spreading rapidly after last week's New Year celebrations with more younger people getting infected.
In the next two incubation periods, the disease can progress to a third wave, Upul Rohana, of the Public Health Inspectors said, adding that the real situation would emerge only in the coming 2-3 weeks.
Meanwhile, the ministry of COVID prevention issued new guidelines which would remain in force until May 31.
The guidelines dictate a 50 per cent capacity operation for most institutions with all forms of revelry being banned.
The country-wide cases which were around 150 before the mid-April New Year have now shot up to over 600 a day.
Sri Lanka is also running out of its health care capacity, officials said.
Sri Lanka, like many other nations, is witnessing a surge in the number of coronavirus cases, with the current figure standing at 99,691 cases and 638 deaths due to the disease.
Director General of Health Services Dr Asela Gunawardena said hospitals still have enough ICU capacity to treat COVID-19 patients but it is more important that health guidelines are followed in order to avoid infection.
Previously the symptoms were not very apparent. Now they are much more visible and young people are more likely to develop them, he said.
Those who have tested positive now develop more breathing difficulties, requiring ICU admission and oxygen, he said.
Sri Lanka is not the only nation to have witnessed new strain of COVID-19 but also other Asian nations such as India, Pakistan, Indonesia among others.
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
