Covid-19 Outbreak: Tedious Task Of Combatting A Virus

Strict quarantine regulations should be established and should be implemented to the letter

- Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam

The total number of COVID -19 patients found in the country has passed 4800 and it keeps rising. The much expected COVID -19 second wave has set in, first as a local outbreak in Minuwangoda and then made its way into the farther parts of the country such as Jaffna and Moneragala.

The number of patients from the outbreak related to a private firm has already passed the 1,500 mark. The tedious task of finding the contacts that we know of, and the contacts that we don’t know of, has been given to the State Intelligence Services, the Public Health Inspectors and the Armed Forces.

This is a thankless job they have been entrusted with, as in the end, they will never find all the people who could have been infected with this virus. It is the same fact that contributed to this outbreak. One Medical Officer was bold enough to say that there is a community spread in the country only to find that he had been removed from his post the very next day. He was acting in the post so it was easy to replace him!

What went wrong? Firstly, this is a new disease caused by a virus of which we have only a little understanding. Even the recognised incubation period for the disease changed with time. It is now thought someone will show symptoms of the disease between 5 to 14 days after being infected by the virus.

Not all get ill after getting infected with the virus. It is not known for sure whether a person who has the germ would show any symptoms of the disease. Such people could infect others without their knowledge.

They say the virus can survive on surfaces for up to 28 days. So, this is not only an air-borne disease and the importance of handwashing is highlighted. The quarantine period is 14 days. Imagine what would have happened in the beginning.