• Letter sent to President   
• Health associations back proposal   
• Situation expected to get worse   

By Easwaran Rutnam   

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been urged to declare a two-week lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus.    

State Minister of Primary Health Care, Epidemics and COVID Disease Control Sudarshini Fernandopulle told Daily Mirror she is among a group of medical specialists who have made the request from the President. “I have made the proposal as a public health specialist. Doctor Associations have also made a proposal in this regard,” she said.   
The proposal has been made as the number of people infected with the virus continues to spread rapidly across the country, including in Colombo.   

A total of 218 people tested positive for the virus in the Colombo District during a 24-hour period ending at 6.00 am yesterday. Officials said that 43 people tested positive for the virus in Fort, 45 in Mount Lavinia, 36 in Slave Island and 23 in Padukka in the Colombo District during this period.   

Health inspectors had said this week that the real impact of the third wave of the coronavirus will be felt in Sri Lanka in two weeks. The Public Health Inspectors Association said that the recent travel ban had not helped drastically reduce infections in Sri Lanka.