• Health Ministry said they were continuously monitoring the situation
• First three COVID-19 waves in Sri Lanka was of the Alpha variant
• Could have serious repercussions as majority of citizens still unvaccinated

By JAMILA HUSAIN

Health experts have warned that the new Delta Variant which is spreading across the country, after sporadic cases were found in recent days, will cause a massive outbreak in 8 to 10 weeks if urgent steps are not taken to maintain the health guidelines. 

Senior officials from the Health Ministry said they were continuously monitoring the situation following patients detected with the Delta variant, but this was likely to cause the fourth wave in 10 weeks if people did not maintain all health guidelines.

The official said that the first three COVID-19 waves faced in Sri Lanka was of the Alpha variant but if the Delta variant was not taken seriously, it could cause chaos in 10 weeks, causing the outbreak of a fourth wave.
This could have serious repercussions as a majority of citizens were still unvaccinated.

“This is because the Delta variant is 70 percent more powerful than the Alpha variant and after it was detected in Dematagoda, we have found sporadic cases from elsewhere as well. We are trying our best to prevent it from spreading but we urge people to cooperate,” the senior official said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the Delta variant detected in 96 countries will become dominant in the coming months.

• This is because the Delta variant is 70 percent more powerful than the Alpha variant and after it was detected in Dematagoda, we have found sporadic cases from elsewhere as well