A new strain of COVID-19 has been detected in Sri Lanka, says Prof. Neelika Malavige, the Head of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Sciences at Sri Jayewardenepura University. This variant of coronavirus is more highly transmissible than all found so far in the island. The new strain is airborne, the droplets can remain airborne for nearly an hour,” added Prof. Malavige.
Health authorities feared that the new variant is spreading rapidly after last week’s New Year celebrations with younger people getting infected. The country-wide cases which were around 150 before the mid-April New Year have now shot up to over 900 a day.
Meanwhile, Upul Rohana, of the Public Health Inspectors said, “In the next two incubation periods, the disease can progress to a third wave,” and said that the real situation would emerge only in the coming 2-3 weeks.
