Over 20 infected with Delta variant found in Sri Lanka
The Deputy Director General of Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath today (13) confirmed that 24 people infected with the Delta COVID variant were detected in Sri Lanka so far. Dr. Hemantha Herath stated that even though travel restrictions have been relaxed, people should operate in a manner that would prevent the spread of the virus. The University of Sri Jayawardenapura said it commenced another study on the spread of the Delta COVID variant in Sri Lanka. Dr. Chandima Jeewandara, the Director of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine of the University of Sri Jayawardenapura said tests will be carried out on 96 samples obtained from COVID-19 patients. These samples were obtained from across the country at random, he said.
Source:The Nation
July 13, 2021 06:56 UTC
Sri Lanka records highest daily vaccinations on Monday
Sri Lanka yesterday (July 12) recorded the highest number of COVID-19 vaccines administered within a single day, according to the Epidemiology Department of the Ministry of Health. Accordingly, a total of 232,526 vaccine doses have been administered yesterday. State Minister of Production, Supply, and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasumana stated that 173,988 first doses and 40,276 doses of the China-produced Sinopharm vaccine were administered yesterday. Further, 13,357 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, 4,725 of the Pfizer vaccine, and 18 doses of the AstraZeneca (Covishield) vaccine have been administered as well. Sri Lanka yesterday commenced the vaccination of teachers and non-academic staff of schools island-wide.
Source:The Nation
July 13, 2021 06:22 UTC
Police arrest five persons on charges of posting obscene photos online
Police say five people have been arrested in the past week on charges of releasing obscene photos and videos online. Police Media Spokesman, Senior DIG Ajith Rohana stated that the suspects were arrested during investigations into complaints received by the Police Computer Crimes Division. The 31-year-old man was arrested on a complaint that he had accessed another person’s Facebook account, changed his password and posted obscene photos, a police spokesman said. Police Media Spokesman, Senior DIG Ajith Rohana stated that the suspects will be produced before court and further investigations will be carried out. Senior DIG Ajith Rohana said that there is a tendency to post pre-wedding photos and videos on social media in various ways when marrying someone else.
Source:The Nation
July 13, 2021 05:48 UTC
Highest number of Covid vaccines administered yesterday
Under the Covid immunization program, the maximum number of vaccinations per day done in 24 hours was done yesterday (12). Accordingly, 232,526 doses were given yesterday (12), the Epidemiology Unit said. The Epidemiology Unit says that 1,504,809 people have been vaccinated so far. Meanwhile, 224 persons have been arrested in the past 24 hours for violating quarantine rules, said Police Media Spokesman, Senior DIG Ajith Rohana. Accordingly, 49,643 persons have been arrested for violating the rule so far, the police spokesman added.
Source:The Nation
July 13, 2021 05:48 UTC
Japan to donate AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Sri Lanka through COVAX
Japan will make additional donations of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Sri Lanka and other Asian neighbours, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Tuesday. An additional 11 million doses donated through the COVAX sharing scheme will be sent this month to Bangladesh, Cambodia, Iran, Laos, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, as well as various Pacific Island states, he said. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry expressed thanks for the gesture, particularly at a serious stage in Japan’s own coronavirus battle. Japan has donated about 3.4 million doses to Taiwan in a show of support for the Chinese-claimed island. Japan has pledged $1 billion and 30 million doses to COVAX.
Source:The Nation
July 13, 2021 05:48 UTC
Cabinet approves plan to promote use of electric vehicles
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Environment to prepare a strategic plan for promoting the use of electric vehicles in Sri Lanka. According to the Department of Motor Traffic, the number of motor vehicles that have been registered by the end of the year 2020 has exceeded 8 million. A considerable portion of those vehicles are older than 10 years and it has been identified that lack of proper maintenance of such old vehicles lead to poisonous gas emissions. It has been confirmed by several researchescarried out by the University of Moratuwa with a few other institutions that 60% of air pollution in Sri Lanka is caused by vehicular emissions. Attention has been drawn to utilize renewable energy even for vehicular operations since, immediate implementation of renewable energy projects is one of the foremost actions the Government has to be taken.
Source:The Nation
July 13, 2021 04:41 UTC
Opposition Leader asks to postpone impending examinations
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has requested the government to postpone the scholarship examination scheduled to be held on October 3 and the GCE Advanced Level examination scheduled to begin on October 4. In a statement, the Leader of the Opposition requested that the examinations be adjourned and given the opportunity to cover the syllabus. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said in a statement that the two examinations were being held in a situation where the children were facing severe mental distress. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says that the children are in a state of confusion as the school education and tuition classes have almost completely collapsed. The Leader of the Opposition said in a statement that the online education system is still foreign to many parts of the country and that more than 2,000 schools have no online facilities and that the government has so far failed to formulate a practical program to promote online education.
Source:The Nation
July 13, 2021 04:07 UTC
Suspect arrested on charges of aiding reorganization of LTTE
A man has been arrested on charges of aiding and abetting the reorganization of the LTTE since 2019. The suspect was arrested by the Terrorist Investigation Division at the Mulliyaweli Quarantine Center yesterday (12). Police Media Spokesman, Senior DIG Ajith Rohana stated that the suspect had fled Sri Lanka to Qatar in 2019. The Terrorism Investigation Division has since obtained a blue notice through Interpol to arrest him. The suspect had been in Sri Lanka for 14 days and was arrested by the Terrorism Investigation Division shortly afterwards.
Source:The Nation
July 13, 2021 03:22 UTC
Five areas released from isolation status
The isolation orders issued on five areas were lifted with effect from 6.00 am today (July 13), the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) announced. Accordingly, the following localities will no longer be under isolation status:Gampaha DistrictWattala police area• Olanda Village in Hendala North GN Division• Rubber Watta Village in Hendala North GN DivisionBatticaloa DistrictKattankudy police area• Manjanthoduvai North GN Division• Jinnah Road in Manjanthoduvai South GN DivisionColombo DistrictKolonnawa police area• Sinhapura GN Division
Source:The Nation
July 13, 2021 02:03 UTC
Dozens killed in COVID hospital fire in Iraq
At least 52 people have been killed in a fire at the coronavirus isolation ward of a hospital in Iraq, the second such deadly blaze in a COVID-19 unit in three months. A medical source with the health directorate told AFP news agency the “main reason behind the fire… was the explosion of oxygen tanks”. “Many people have taken to the streets in Nasiriya and in front of the hospital,” said Abdelwahed, who said that the manager of the hospital had resigned. The blaze at the Nasiriya hospital is the second such tragedy this year. In April, a fire at a Baghdad COVID-19 hospital sparked by the explosion of badly stored oxygen cylinders killed 82 people and injured 110 others.
Source:The Nation
July 13, 2021 01:52 UTC
Big scene for father and daughter
Some InterAction Council MembersBy Dr Laksiri FernandoUnder the present international and national circumstances of each and every country, balancing human rights with human duties and responsibilities is of paramount importance. Although this has been a theme from the beginning of human civilization, humans have always had a tendency to undermine duties and responsibilities. Past Religious DiscoursesAlmost all religious leaders and most (ancient) philosophers emphasised the importance of human duties and responsibilities along with or separate from rights. However the pertinent question is why did the drafter’s of the UN ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)’ in 1948 overlook this side of human nature or necessity? ConclusionMore pertinent to our discussion here is the InterAction Council’s initiative, during 1996 and 1997, to bring a ‘Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities’ which in fact was a great achievement.
Source:The Nation
July 13, 2021 00:11 UTC
Navy seizes huge stock of Kerala cannabis
“We are closely watching the situation,” MP Kaviratne said, adding that she intended to raise the issue at the next meeting of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus. Edirisinge of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) had been among those arrested; he was granted bail. She noted that the local government politician was not the only person who had received bail. Earlier, the court granted bail to the girl’s mother. Senior DIG Rohana said altogether nine persons had so far been granted bail.
Source:The Nation
July 13, 2021 00:00 UTC
Sri Lanka set to meet Uzbekistan for Asian Championship place
Sri LankaSri Lanka are all set to encounter Uzbekistan in the Central Asian qualifier for the Senior Asian Volleyball Championship at the Sugathadasa Stadium on Wednesday. The Asian Volleyball Championship, which was first held in 1975, is conducted every two years. The two teams have met only twice (2011, 2013) and on both occasions Sri Lanka beat the Uzbekistan team 3-0. In the first round Sri Lanka beat their counterparts 3-0 but later in the tenth place match the Uzbekistan team emerged victorious in a five set thriller (3-2). In the Asian region where there are 65 countries, Sri Lanka is ranked 10th while Uzbekistan is ranked 24.
Source:The Nation
July 13, 2021 00:00 UTC
WHO warns against mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccines
The warning comes after Thailand announced it would allow patients to get one shot each of the AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines to combat a current surge of COVID-19 cases. Thailand will mix the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines for health workers, a move the WHO advises against. Thailand now plans to give medical staff with only one shot of the Sinovac vaccine the AstraZeneca vaccine for their second shot. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are the two available vaccines that use mRNA technology. The goal is to find if there are any potential benefits to mixing and matching different vaccines.
Source:The Nation
July 12, 2021 21:56 UTC
BORIS STARLING: Stop-gap England manager Gareth became a Goliath
Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka missed their kicks, but England manager Gareth Southgate was clear yesterday where the responsibility lay: on himself. Being national manager is, in many ways, harder than being a club manager. Changing this would be key to changing the view of his England team, and the results. He also consoled Colombian player Mateus Uribe whose missed penalty saw England reach the quarter-finals. Next year he will probably lead England in the World Cup, when they will be more hardened, together and determined.
Source:The Nation
July 12, 2021 21:00 UTC