Sri Lanka's COVID-19 death toll crosses 16,000 mark

Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 death toll crosses 16,000 mark

Xinhua

22nd Feb, 2022. 04:57 pm
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COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s total COVID-19 death toll surpassed the 16,000 mark after 30 new deaths were reported, the Health Ministry said here in an update on Tuesday.

According to official figures, the total death toll from the virus reached 16,024 on Monday evening, while the total number of positive cases reached 638,043 since March 2020.

Health officials said Sri Lanka is presently facing a rise in infections with over 1,000 cases reported daily due to a spread of the Omicron variant.

Officials said that a rise in hospitalizations had been reported from several areas including Colombo and the number of oxygen-dependent patients had also risen.

However, there was no shortage of beds that had been reported from hospitals and Sri Lanka’s health system was capable of handling the rising demand.

Sri Lanka’s Health Ministry has urged people over the age of 20 years to get their booster vaccine doses and has encouraged people to strictly follow all health guidelines including wearing masks and maintaining social distance.