The Home-based Integrated Patient Management System for COVID patients that got jointly underway with the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) and the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) as well as all NOCPCO Task Force members, Medical Specialists, Health Administrators, Civil and Military Medical Officers, Nurses, Paramedics, NOCPCO Officers and Other Ranks and all stakeholders came in for praise of Chief of Defence Staff and Army Commander General Shavendra Silva during a meeting session of the NOCPCO Task Force, held on Friday afternoon (24) at the NOCPCO in Rajagiriya with Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunwardena,.
General Shavendra Silva said that concerted efforts of all medical fraternity and inexplicable sacrifices of all Sri Lankans for well over a year as true sons and daughters of the soil enabled to drastically minimize mortality among adults as well as morbidity numbers among the public in the most recent past, a positive development as a nation all can be proud of. “We need to sustain the status quo and continue with our strict health guidelines even after relaxation of restrictions on movements, public gatherings and social distancing if we are determined to eradicate the epidemic once for all,” he said.
He said that all the mechanisms worked very well towards the control of further spread of the virus. “Similarly, the Home-based Integrated Patient Management System for COVID patients that went ahead jointly with the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) and the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) establishing Tel No 1904 and Dr Call 247 proved a marked success and helped a lot to save lives. He thanked the SLMA for initiating the project while simultaneously providing medical accessories, such as oximeters for use among those home-based patients.
The meeting also re-visited the progress of the national vaccination drive, new quarantine procedures at the airport, decline of the numbers seeking vaccines among the young ones, new normal practices to be introduced after expiry of the Quarantine Curfew, recommendations of health experts for future in the event of prevailing restrictions are done away with after October 1 as per directions of the President. “The Presidential Task Force, chaired by Hon Basil Rajapakse, Minister of Finance this morning (24) took up the question of ongoing quarantine curfew and its continuation or removal will be decided by the President soon upon his return to the country. The marked drop of the number of the affected in the past three days as well as death rates is the direct result of long-drawn the Quarantine Curfew, which restricted public gatherings and the presence of more private vehicles on roads means less public transport,” he said.
Availability of sufficient vaccine doses for foreign employees and students, the arrival of 2.7 million more vaccine doses, the lack of interest among the young to receive the vaccine, repatriation programme and PCR system at the airport, conduct of awareness projects, opening of schools under strict precautions, introduction of guidelines for forthcoming festive season after removal of quarantine curfew, etc were among other issues that were touched during this session.
General Shavendra Silva summed up developments as regards control measures of COVID-19 across the country in the past few days and thanked the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) and all for their support. DGHS and other attendees also joined the conversation.
by Daily News Sri Lanka
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