The Mayor of the Colombo Municipal Council, Rosy Senanayake, urges the people of Colombo and people who visit Colombo daily from outlying areas to refrain from visiting the capital city except for an urgent matter and to stay at home as much as possible.
In a special press release, Mayor Senanayake says that the coronavirus has spread rapidly throughout the city of Colombo and there are reports of infections in all areas. She points out that coronavirus infections have been reported even from business places in Colombo and that a large number of Covid infected people die every day.
“On the advice of His Excellency the President, the Corona Control Committee and all members of the health sector have been engaged in a huge mission to eliminate COVID-19 for more than a year now. However, now we are heading for something unprecedented in history. The number of coronavirus infections and deaths reported from all over the country, especially from the city of Colombo, is increasing day by day. It seems that the number of deaths per hour is now higher than the number of deaths reported per day a few months ago,” she stated.
“This is a very serious situation. The health sector continues to say that this can only be controlled by following health care practices. Therefore, I kindly request all residents of Colombo to stay at home. We also urge the hundreds of thousands of people who visit Colombo every day not to come to Colombo except for a matter of urgency,” she also noted.
“Coming to Colombo means risking your life. So before coming to Colombo, think about it not once, not twice but several times? Is there no other way for me to do this work? If I go to Colombo, my children and my parents can get corona, right? Think again. If your workplace is in Colombo, talk to the head of the workplace. Make arrangements to work from home,” the Mayor appealed.
Meanwhile, Mayor Rosy Senanayake says that coronavirus infections have been reported in all areas of the Colombo city limits and in many business and workplaces.
She further urged the residents and all those who come to Colombo not to travel away from home thinking that there are no travel restrictions within the district and in the municipal area, even though the country has been kept open and strict travel restrictions have been imposed due to the need to continue to provide essential services and supplies.
Pointing out that according to medical experts the Coronavirus Delta strain, which is currently spreading in Sri Lanka, can be transmitted from one person to another in as little as 15 seconds, whereas the It took about 10 minutes for the first strain of the virus to infect, the Mayor said the situation in Colombo is extremely severe.
“The Public Health Department of our Colombo Municipal Council has been working 24 hours a day for more than a year to control this epidemic. Our health sector has the energy to do that. But what is needed is your support. No matter how hard the health department tries to control this serious epidemic, it cannot be controlled if you do not follow your health advice. If you’ve been out of the house healthy, or coming to Colombo from somewhere else, it’s likely that you’ll be back home with the coronavirus,” the Mayor also noted.
The Mayor said that a large number of people have been directed to quarantine due to the large number of coronavirus infections reported from the city of Colombo. She points out that most of the patients who have to be hospitalized show severe symptoms and have to be given respiratory aid.
The number of people dying from coronavirus infection in hospitals as well as at home, is now higher than ever. She urged the public to understand this dire situation and stressed the need for them to stay at home to save their own life and the lives of their loved ones, saying that public support is urgently needed to control the epidemic.
The mayor also said that anyone who has not yet been vaccinated against coronavirus should get vaccinated as soon as possible and follow health guidelines without thinking that the vaccine alone will protect them from the virus.
