Apr 6 (CT) Social media in Sinhala is exploding these few days with vicious posts and cartoons demonising the Muslim community as a whole for expressing views about their displeasure in respect of the cremation of the first Muslim Corona patient who passed away in Negombo. The very basis for their displeasure was conveniently forgotten; which was clouded by a Islamopbobia coating with unreasonable labels attached to them such as unpatriotic and senseless more..

Apr 6 (CT) At the outset the prospect of being sequestered created varying levels of anxiety and discomfort among the populace, but now it seems they have reached a consensus and understanding with the inevitable and are getting accustomed to the prospect of being confined to their homes. The state of affairs nonetheless is bound to last longer owing to its unpredictability. Initial reactions indicated concerns of food sufficiency, of lack of money and of overall survival prospects with more..

Apr 6 (FT) Former UNP MP Eran Wickramaratne says Govt must balance programs to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus with prudent economic policies, warning that if we let the economy fail, we will fail with health too. He also emphasised on the importance of moving from curfew to limited lockdown, to change of lifestyle, balancing the loss of life from coronavirus & loss of life from our socioeconomic measures. more..

Apr 6 (CT) US Prez Donald Trump, as well as several powerful world leaders, still remain in a clueless state of getting rid of COVID-19. Historians have pointed out that French astrologer Nostradamus, who had predicted precisely in 1551 several important occurrences, including man-made disasters as well as natural disasters, had even predicted about COVID-19, stating that there will be a twin year (2020) and a monstrous queen will appear from the East (China), challenging more..

Apr 6 (DM) By yesterday (5) at least 1,202,609 persons worldwide had tested coronavirus or Covid-19 positive and 64,732 had died of the dreaded disease. But the good news is that 246,640 of this number had completely recovered. In our own country, Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe announced on March 10 the first SL patient infected with the COVID-19 had been identified. The 52-year-old patient was a tour guide and he had recently provided services to an Italian tour more..

Apr 6 (Island) Crisis and opportunity come together. The latter often goes unnoticed. The nations that see opportunities in crises and grab them achieve progress. All it took to bring the developed world to its knees, just like its developing counterpart, was a microorganism. Coronavirus has upended the whole world, which won’t be the same ever again even when the ongoing global health emergency is over. Whoever would have thought automobile giants, catering to the global super rich, would have more..

Apr 6 (Island) Over a million positive cases of corona virus disease (COVID-19) have been reported worldwide (1,018,150 cases as on 3rd April 2020) with 53,251 untimely deaths. Corona virus disease (COVID-19) was first reported in Wuhan, China, on 31 Dec 2019. United Nations health agency (WHO) had declared COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern on 30 Jan 2020 (same day when first case of COVID-19 was reported in India). more..

Apr 6 (FT) The proponent of the Theory of Black Swan, Lebanese-American Essayist and New York Uni Academic, Nassim Taleb, has made a fine prediction in his third book in the Incerto Series, The Black Swan, which had gone unnoticed until today. In this book, first published in 2007, Taleb makes the following observation: ‘As we travel more on this planet, epidemics will be more acute – we will have a germ population dominated by more..

Apr 6 (DM) It is said, “If you can stay positive in a negative situation, you win.” The population of the World is 7.6+billion. Therein, the population of South and South East Asia is 2.5+billion or nearly 33%. South Asia - 8 Nations, 1.94+billion people (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and SL). South East Asia - 11 Nations, 0.66+billion people (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste & Vietnam). more..

Apr 6 (CT) As Sri Lanka held the second All Party Conference in Colombo to arrive at a consensual approach to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, UNGA in New York unanimously adopted a resolution calling for increased global solidarity and international cooperation against the outbreak. UN resolution, which was prepared by Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, Indonesia, Liechtenstein and Ghana and sponsored by 188 countries, was unanimously approved in the 193- member assembly. more..

Apr 6 (GV) It was Oct 1348. Bubonic plague, known to posterity as the Black Death, was sweeping across Europe. In Geneva, a man by the name of Agimet was arrested and made to sign a confession (he was twice put to torture a little, according to official documents). In his torture-propelled confession, Agimet says he poisoned wells to spread plague among gentiles, at the urging of a rabbi. For Agimet was Jewish. more..

Apr 6 (FT) Our dialogues and consideration of what do with and about COVID-19 would benefit greatly by admitting a few things. *As of this writing we do not know any of the following with any degree of medical, data-underwritten certainty (as opposed to speculative modelling where there are competing, duelling models). 1.The actual death rate from COVID-19, 2.The infection rate, 3.The likely fatality rate going forward, 4.Or all those who currently have the disease! more..

Apr 6 (DN) The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs has taken a decision for their entire staff to donate a day’s salary to the Presidential Task Force to support the govt in its fight against Covid-19. Secretary of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs K.D. Ruwanchandra said, “all the Sports and Youth Affairs activities have been stopped due to the Corona epidemic and we are doing our works from home and conducting meetings via online video conferences.” more..

Apr 6 (DN) Head coach of the SL cricket team Mickey Arthur believes that cricket will come out of the current Covid-19 pandemic stronger. In a Q&A conducted by the Sri Lanka Cricket media unit, Arthur said, “It really is a very unfortunate state of affairs around the world with the world in total lockdown now and all sports and most business coming to a standstill. I think firstly it is important to acknowledge the plight of more..

Apr 6 (DN) Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said govt has decided to extend the Rs.5,000 allowance granted to Samurdhi beneficiaries to those engaged in the Tourism sector affected by the battle to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Presidential Task Force established to administer essential services has taken this decision on the instructions of Prez Rajapaksa to ease the financial difficulties faced by low income and vulnerable families and individuals due to the COVID-19 outbreak, more..

Apr 6 (DN) Taking the lead in empowering the private sector during COVID-19, Chamber Academy of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with FITIS and LK Domain Registry, hosted a webinar for over a hundred participants, on how to successfully work from home (WFH). The webinar covered an introduction to working from home, and the communication aspects of it by Prof. Gihan Dias, CEO of LK Domain Registry; Collaboration and Workflow Aspects by more..

Apr 6 (TM) Using the first-ever online Colombo Tea Auction held yesterday (4) as a starting point, the tea industry plans to continue to hold online auctions even after the Covid-19 outbreak is contained. This was revealed by Ceylon Tea Traders’ Association (CTTA) Chairman Jayantha Karunaratne, who added that plans to conduct online tea auctions have been in the pipeline for years but it was never done. more..

Apr 6 (FT) The Court of Appeal has fixed two days in April to deal with applications pertaining to bail in respect of inquires which have already been fixed and to take up other urgent matters. The Court will meet on 9 April and address bail matters, for which a motion will have to be filed by today (6). The CA had instructed in a circular that such motions will have to be filed electronically. “Though the Court is hamstrung by the non-availability of support staff to entertain fresh filings for bail more..

Apr 6 (AD) A fire erupted in the pharmaceutical store of the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital at around 11 am this morning (5). It was doused in the joint efforts of the Kurunegala Municipal Fire Brigade, Kurunegala Police, STF and Army personnel and the hospital staff. Following the initial probes on the incident, it was revealed that 4 containers of highly concentrated disinfectant, which was being carried out from the store by a medical assistant, had caught fire. more..

Apr 6 (PMD) The week from tomorrow, Monday the 6th April to Friday, the 10th April has been declared a period of work from home for the public as well as the private sector institutes. The last week too was a period of work from home. The curfew imposed in the districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Puttalam, Kandy and Jaffna which have been identified as High Risk Zones will continue until further notice. more..

Apr 6 (Island) President of Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Tourism (ASMET), Rohan Abeywickrama, said SL’s tourism industry would be the first to bounce back in the region if the coronavirus threat could be overcome by end May. Abeywickrama, a veteran in the SME sector with over 40-years of experience under his belt, told ‘The Island’ that a leading Malaysian tour operator had recently made a tentative reservation for 140 pax for a week’s package tour of the country in Aug. more..

Apr 6 (Island) The COVID – 19 Virus has caused inconvenience for many over the last two weeks and news is emerging of two cricket players from Sri Lanka who are left stranded in Cape Town, South Africa. The holiday destination of Cape Town was hosting the over 50 World Cup when the organizers were forced to abandon the competition halfway through and although most players of teams from all over the world made it back to their respective countries, some are left stranded in SA. more..

Apr 6 (TM) Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardana yesterday (4) said that the Govt had not taken any decision to utilise EPF monies to meet the financial deficit as alleged by JVP trade unions. However, Inter Company Employees Union (ICEU) President Wasantha Samarasinghe alleged that the Govt had explored the possibility of using EPF money, but later on had found that it was not enough to meet the financial requirements. more..

Apr 6 (AD) The Ministry of Health confirms that one more patient has tested positive for the Coronavirus, increasing the total number of cases in the country to 176. The Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry states that 33 patients have recovered so far while 138 patients are currently under medical care. The number of deaths in Sri Lanka due to COVID-19 stands at 5. Over 250 suspected patients are under observation at selected hospitals. more..

Apr 6 (Island) Environmentalists called for an end to the large scale Aloe Vera cultivation project in the buffer zone of Wilpattu National Park in Track18, Rajanganaya. Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) Executive Director, Hemantha Withanage said that the USD 370 million investment by Aura Lanka Herbals Pvt. Ltd. Had been initiated recently without any technical evaluation. “It is just an Aloe Vera cultivation. That’s what everybody keeps saying even the govt officers. more..

Apr 6 (TM) Since the Govt imposed an indefinite islandwide curfew to curb the spread of Covid-19, only with the exception of short windows in several areas, the purchasing of essentials and medicines has become warfare for many families, especially those living in main towns in the Colombo and Kandy districts. During the past three weeks, many locals have complained of grocery, food, & medicine shortages despite more..

Apr 6 (SO) According to the mathematical modeling done by the Medical Faculty of Colombo Uni, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases in Sri Lanka can reach 1,400 soon. The free health service is getting ready to accept this challenge, Health Services Director General Dr. Anil Jasinghe said. According to Dr. Jasinghe, the same mathematical prediction stated that the number of COVID-19 positive cases will reach 137 by April 4 but the actual number exceeded this predicted number. more..

Apr 6 (DM) In order to assist those with suspected Covid-19 the Ministry of Health has established an emergency hotline 1390 for the public to obtain free medical advice on symptoms of COVID-19, Health Services Director General Dr. Anil Jasinghe said. He said that the hotline has been established by the Ministry of Health as a measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus to doctors, nurses and other persons who unknowingly come into contact with individuals with minor symptoms. more..

Apr 6 (EN) Police have arrested a woman in the Panadura area for allegedly posting false content on Social Media with regards to the fight against the spread of COVID 19. DIG Ajith Rohana said the 41-year old is a professional Ballroom Dance instructor who lives in the Raja Maha Vihara area. “She will be charged and produced before a magistrate shortly,” he said. DIG said they were also conducting investigations into an audio tape more..

Apr 6 (DN) Location data compiled by Google from SL smartphone user’s show that there has been a 32% increase in smartphone location history in residential places. The location data is compiled by Google as part of their anonymized insights they use in products such as Google Maps. They feel the data could be helpful to make critical decisions to combat COVID-19. For the data up to March 29 over the baseline time spent at areas classified residential locations increased 32% while more..

Apr 6 (DM) The GMOA urged the health authorities to speed up the COVID-19 testing of some 42,000 personnel who have been in contact with over 160 patients tested positive for the virus in the country. GMOA member Dr. Naveen De Soyza said it was revealed at a meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday that about 42,000 people have been in contact with those tested positive. He said the current pace of testing was not adequate to efficiently counter the spread of the virus. more..

Apr 6 (AFP) Sri Lanka extended the suggested quarantine period from two weeks to four on Sunday after a 34-year-old man who returned home from South Korea tested positive a week after leaving isolation. Army chief Shavendra Silva - who operates several quarantine facilities - told those who are completing the mandatory two-week quarantine to isolate themselves for a further 14-day period. more..

Apr 6 (DM) With the prolonged restriction of people’s movements through measures such as curfew for the containment of the COVID-19 disease, concern is raised regarding the unforeseeable socio- economic and political implications of such steps. Prez Rajapaksa issued a proclamation at the beginning of March declaring a snap general election. It was a time when the present crisis had not started raising its head in the country. By the time the nomination period started on Mar 11, more..

Apr 6 (SLN) As a preventive measure of the spreading of novel coronavirus in the country, more disinfection programmes were conducted by Sri Lanka Navy during 3rd to 5th April 2020, at Colombo National Hospital, Colombo North Teaching Hospital-Ragama and Bank premises in Colombo Fort area. These sterilization programmes were carried out by Navy’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Unit, following the directives of Commander of the Navy, Piyal De Silva. more..

Apr 6 (EN) SL has tightened controls on foreign exchange outflows for 3 months as the rupee slid in the wake of rate cuts and helicopter drop style liquidity injections made to keep rates down as the country is trying to fight off an Coronavirus outbreak. SL has suspended all remittances by from business foreign currency accounts or personal foreign currency accounts are suspended for 3 months, more..

Apr 6 (EN) Sri Lanka has made another helicopter drop of cash pushing up excess money in the banking system with monetary instability already triggered, the rupee slide against the dollar and more trade controls were promised, as the country fights off Coronavirus. Liquidity injections not only makes the currency fall, making medical supplies more expensive, excess rupees also generate foreign exchange shortages undermining the ability to import food, critics say. more..

Apr 6 (Island) Regional Director Health Services, Matara, Dr. A.D.U. Karunarathna, told the action committee, set up to curtail the spread of Covid-19 in the district headed by Minister Dullas Alahapperuma that there were 727 families under self-quarantine in the district. The action committee meets regularly at the District Secretariat, in Matara, after the govt imposed curfew to prevent the spread of the deadly virus. Dr. Karunarathna revealed the figures when Minister made an inquiry. more..

Apr 6 (AD) SL Navy has dispatched a team to retrieve the sole SL crew member aboard the MSC Magnifica cruise ship in Sri Lankan waters. The navy spokesman said that the SL Navy will take charge of the SL national, who serves as a chef aboard the ship, on the instructions of the President. He is to be brought to the Colombo Harbour by the navy and will be then sent to Boossa for quarantine. A SL national performing duties aboard more..

Apr 6 (Island) Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, in his Palm Sunday sermon slammed those who had been pushing for parliamentary election at a time of unprecedented crisis caused by the rapidly spreading Covid-19. Catholic leader emphasized that the time definitely was not opportune for anyone to seek political advantage. Delivering the Sunday sermon, at the Chapel, at the Borella Bishop’s House, and telecast live by Sirasa, the Archbishop of Colombo more..