The zonal lockdown procedures should be implemented with immediate effect after identifying areas where the COVID-19 virus could be spreading, the Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA) said.

GMOA Secretary Dr. Shenal Fernando said if the decision for a zonal lockdown was delayed, the virus could spread to a great extent.

“Therefore, measures should be taken to identify the areas where the virus could spread. The pandemic has already spread into 13 districts and large sub-clusters were reported in another five districts,” he said.

He said the whole country should go for a lockdown with immediate effect to bring the situation under control if these sub-clusters were not controlled.

"The World Health Organisation (WHO) also informed not to go for a country lockdown and to identify the virus spreading areas wisely to control the situation," Dr Fernando said. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)