Sri Lanka has reported it’s first death due to novel Coronavirus on Saturday.
A 65-year-old diabetic man who was being treated for the deadly viral infection at Colombo”s Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), died, according to the Anil Jasinghe, Director General of the Health Services.
The patient had a history of high blood pressure and blood sugar, he said.
According to Health Ministry officials, the man had contracted the virus from Lanka”s second coronavirus patient who was in contact with a group of Italian tourists.
As of Saturday, there were 115 confirmed COVID-19 cases and one death in the island nation. Nine persons have been cured of the disease, while 199 were under observation at designated hospitals across the country.
Meanwhile, the country continues to remain under curfew and a restriction remained imposed on foreign arrivals.
The ban on foreign arrivals has been extended till April 7 to contain the spread of the virus.
On March 18, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had called on the citizens of the country to temporarily halt travel, public gatherings or celebrations as this would enable the government to completely control the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak.
With businesses hampered due to the outbreak of the pandemic, President Rajapaksa also unveiled relief packages such as offering lentils and canned fish at subsidized rates, and ordered banks and finance companies to allow a recovery period of six months for the loan facilities taken by businesses.
Last week there was a riot in the north central province jail, causing at least two deaths, as inmates feared that they may get infected by the virus.
The global death toll in the coronavirus pandemic crossed 30,000 on Sunday, as total cases crossed 6,60,000. With 92,472 cases Italy’s death toll crossed 10,000 becoming the worst-hit country followed by Spain which has reported 5,986 deaths