• Omicron poses mammoth threat as 41 more fresh cases reported 
• Booster dose plus health rules key, to protect from Omicron
• Over 9,000 Dengue cases in December alone, highest in 2021

By Sheain Fernandopulle  

The twin threat of Omicron and Dengue is poised to affect Sri Lanka in the New Year .   
Over 9,000 Dengue cases have been reported in December, 2021 alone, up from 4,561 cases reported the previous month. The total cases shot up to 36,000 in 2021.  

 Dr. Sudath Samaraweera who was addressing a news briefing at the Government Information Department yesterday, warned that Dengue cases would increase in the next couple of months as well.  

“Accordingly, a special Dengue prevention programme will be carried out in 15 Districts which have been identified as high-risk areas. The programme will kick off in 81 MOH areas in said districts from January 04 to 10,” he said.   “The programme will focus on identifying breeding places, destroying them and also educating people about the danger,” he added.  

Speaking of precautionary measures, Dr. Samaraweera advised people to seek immediate medical advice if one has fever for over 24 hours, in order to ascertain whether it is Dengue or not.  

Meanwhile, 41 more cases of Omicron COVID variant were recorded in the country yesterday.  
According to Director of the Allergy, Immunology and Cell Biology Unit of the Sri Jayewardenepura University Dr. Chandima Jeewandara, 45 such cases had been confirmed in their labs at the Sri Jayewardenepura University yesterday.   “The cases were detected in 176 samples received over the 
last week. 

Majority of samples were received from the Bandaranaike International Airport while other samples were detected from Colombo Municipal Council, Mahara and Minuwangoda MOH areas,” he explained.  

“All the cases of Omicron were identified from samples received from BIA while other samples belong to Delta variant,” Dr. Jeewandara added.  

However, he said Sri Lanka had plenty of mitigation measures against the Omicron variant.  

Moreover, the number of COVID cases is expected to swell with the Omicron variant and therefore, Health authorities insisted  people to stringently follow health practices and to receive the booster dose without any delay.