May 8 (CT) Dr. Olivia Nieveras, Officer-InCharge, WHO Sri Lanka, explained in a brief interview with Ceylon Today why the global shortage of vaccines and the global and local surge in COVID-19 cases require immediate action. Q: In your statement, you mentioned 'countries cannot vaccinate their way out of this problem'? Can you elaborate more on this? A: Vaccines are part of the toolbox to combat COVID-19. It is extremely important to combine vaccination with public health and social measures. more..

May 8 (Island) The govt and the people of Free Sri Lanka are to be blamed fairly and squarely for all the deaths and suffering caused by the recent surge of Covid-19 infection. Cass adds the greater blame lies with the govt. It is there to protect the people of the country, and it has failed while being well aware of the raging infection just across the narrow Palk Straits. Perhaps it was blind, deaf and least concerned about the horrific calamitous state the subcontinent was submerged in. more..

May 8 (CT) As the House was debating the current pandemic situation in the country, Prez Rajapaksa arrived in Parliament on 5 May and took his seat in the Chamber. Upon arrival at 10.05 a.m., he was accorded a warm welcome, at the main entrance, by Chief Government Whip Johnston Fernando along with State Ministers Kanaka Herath and D.V. Chanaka. Minister Bandula Gunawardena was more..

May 8 (ST) Samurdhi officers continue to face assault and threats by people puzzled and resentful that they are excluded from the Rs. 5,000 hardship benefit being handed out to sections of the community. Many people are confused about why they have not received the allowance this time when they received it during previous occasions, Samurdhi Development Officers Union Secretary Chamara Madduma-Kaluge said. The wife of a Samurdhi officer attached to Kudalunuka more..

May 8 (CT) Residents of Thanabaddegama village which belongs to Welivitiya Divituru Divisional Secretariat said that they are facing a severe water shortage for many years. However, till today, neither the Government or the responsible authorities have paid any interest or attention to resolve the issue. Thanabaddegama is a small village where only 150 families reside and most of the villagers lead their daily life by working as labors in the tea and cinnamon industry. more..

May 8 (ST) Last year�s countrywide lockdowns and travel restrictions did not lead to a decline in narcotics-related arrests, National Dangerous Drug Board statistics show. Figures indicate that in the first six month of last year alone, 45,013 arrests were made for drug-related crimes. Of them 23,203 people were arrested for heroin-related offences and 20,640 for cannabis-related offences. Figures more or less correspond to 2019 statistics. more..

May 8 (CT) The present situation of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka is alarming to the extent that any common man can easily arrive at the conclusion that the level of diligence and the control exercised by the govt in handling the first wave of the pandemic has degenerated at an alarming rate. The govt�s general approach to handling COVID-19 was nothing but I did it best, We are the best to handle it in the world, We will be the first to vaccinate the entire population. They continuously neglected to apply more..

May 8 (Island) The knockout stage matches of the Under-19 Division III cricket tournament will be played only after the schools reopen, SL Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA) said. SLSCA managed to conclude the Under-19 Division I and II tournaments before the third wave of the Covid 19 pandemic forced cancellation of all public events. But the Division III tournament largely consisting of outstation and up and coming schools was stranded at the quarter-final stage as the schools were more..

May 8 (DM) Soil makes up as the home to millions of insects, microorganisms, recycle matter and store water. More than 95% of the food produced in the world is from the land. However, the Status of the World�s Soil Resources Report (SWSR) in 2015 has identified soil pollution as one of the key threats to the global soils. Soil pollution has a direct impact on food security in different ways. more..

May 8 (DM) The Free Trade Zone Manufacturers� Association (FTZMA) yesterday alleged that the Board of Investment (BOI) has turned a deaf ear to its repeated complaints regarding the discharge of wastewater at the Horana export processing zone (EPZ) and the companies in that arena are now faced with the risk of having all operations shutdown under a court order. In a hard-hitting letter to BOI Chief Sanjaya Mohottala, the FTZMA stated that the BOI was made aware by HDDES Extracts more..

May 8 (FT) Nestl� Lanka was announced the winner of the Community Relations award at the recent Best Corporate Citizens Sustainability Awards 2020, an annual event organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce to recognise the sustainability champions of the corporate world. Nestl� was awarded for its strong actions in making a positive impact on the local community, and enhancing quality of life for people across its value chain, from farmer to consumer. more..

May 8 (Island) If those who have taken the first dose of AstraZeneca are to receive a second jab of Sputnik V, they should take the first Sputnik V vaccine with adenovirus 26 (Ad26), Consultant Immunologist, Dr Nihan de Silva says. He said that the first dose of Sputnik had Ad 26 and the second had adenovirus-5. �Adenovirus-5 is common. We may have been exposed to that and we may have developed antibodies. more..

May 8 (FT) LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence Index (BCI) improved for the second consecutive month to 138 in April, recording an increase of 12 basis points compared to the previous month � although the uptick may not hold in the short term, given the spike in COVID-19 cases and fatalities, a spokesperson for the magazine�s publisher, Media Services, says. LMD notes that this marks the highest point for the index over the last 12 months but it points out that the survey was conducted in the first week of more..

May 8 (ST) A tasty soursop wine that can fight diabetes, cancer and boost the immune system has been concocted by Sabaragamuwa University�s Faculty of Applied Sciences and there are hopes of winning overseas markets with the product. �A research team at the university has entered into a licensing agreement with an agency to sponsor the beverage and introduce it to the market,� Sabaragamuwa University Vice-Chancellor Udaya Ratnayake said, more..

May 8 (PMD) Prez Rajapaksa has instructed the relevant officials to expedite both the import procedures and administering COVID-19 vaccines to the public. During a discussion held with the COVID-19 Committee today (7), which meets daily at the Prez Secretariat, Prez emphasized that the maximum number of COVID-19 shots should be given within a short period of time. It is important to pay special attention to Western Province, more..

May 8 (CT) The 92nd Battle of the Maroons, the annual cricket encounter between Ananda College and Nalanda College which was scheduled for 5 and 6 June, has been postponed due to the prevailing health situation in the country. The encounter was scheduled to be played in Colombo. Out of the 91 matches played, Ananda has won 14, with Nalanda accounting for 5, and 67 matches drawn. In 1942-45 and 1948 the match was not played due to World War II and Independence. more..

May 8 (Island) Although there�s been much hype about the new contracts national players are supposed to sign with a lot of stress on fitness, The contracts in fact are flawed with loopholes which can be manipulated by interested parties. It has been brought to our notice that a certain clause in the contracts says that a player can be exempted from fitness tests if the selectors think so. The clause it is said has been included to benefit a former fast bowler who had a disastrous stint as more..

May 8 (FT) Daily COVID-19 detections exceeded 1,500 for the ninth consecutive day with 1,914 COVID-19 patients detected yesterday. 1,889 of yesterday�s patients were linked to the New Year Cluster. The cluster has expanded to 24,577 patients and the Divulapitiya, Peliyagoda, Prisons and New Year clusters have a cumulative patient count of 115,324. 82,785 COVID-19 patients have been detected from the Peliyagoda more..

May 8 (BS) Mumbai Indians on Thursday said that their local stars have reached home while it has also ensured a safe passage for its Australian contingent to Maldives along with SL head coach Mahela Jaywardene, who also will be quarantining there. The five-time champions posted a series of tweets and shared the travel plans of its players and support staff. "Indian players have embarked on their journey back to their hometowns. All Covid-19 related travel and safety protocols more..

May 8 (TM) The UNP has raised concerns over the availability of PCR tests in the country. Speaking to the media, UNP General-Secretary, Palitha Range Bandara questioned the Govt on the allegations that the health authorities have run out of PCR testing kits for the next week. �The Govt must confirm or deny the rumors that claim there is a shortage of PCR testing kits in the country. If this is correct, how do the authorities plan to rectify this issue and how soon can new testing kits be deployed. more..

May 8 (FT) Plantations Minister Ramesh Pathirana has introduced regulations to ensure the quality standard of green tea. The regulations have been promulgated under the Tea Control Act, No. 51 of 1957 and are cited as the Tea Control (Quality Standard of Green Tea Leaf) Regulations No. 02 of 2021. The regulations apply to all registered manufacturers of tea and licensed dealers of green tea leaf as raw material to tea factories. more..

May 8 (DN) Superintendent of Prisons, Angunakolapalassa Prisons, SP Pallethanna, said that former MP Ranjan Ramanayake serving a four-year prison term in Angunakolapalassa prison is safe. He said this on being asked by us if former MP Ranjana Ramanayake had shown any suicidal tendencies that he had reportedly tried to kill himself in that prison as per some news websites. �Those reports were lies,� said SP Pallethanna. We also asked the former MP�s Media Secretary more..

May 8 (CT) If administration of the second dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVISHIELD vaccine continues to be delayed due to lack of stocks, another approved vaccine available in the country could be used as a second dose, said Prof. Suranjith Seneviratne, Professor and Consultant in Clinical Immunology and Allergy at the Royal Free Hospital and Uni College London. However, he emphasised it was imperative that such a vaccine be approved by a national or global regulatory body. more..

May 8 (Island) The distribution and availability of high-flow oxygen machines to treat Covid-19 infected pregnant women were not adequate, President of the SL College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (SLCOG) Dr. Pradeep de Silva said. Dr. de Silva said that while they had not yet faced any lack of oxygen in treating Covid-19 infected pregnant mothers, things could change rapidly given the limited availability of equipment. more..

May 8 (Island) Representatives of the National Christian Council of SL (NCCSL) said that their churches and centres can be used to run vaccination programmes. The govt can even request the use of their facilities as quarantine centres, they said. �We also call upon all people to strictly adhere to the instructions and stipulated guidelines issues by the Health Authorities in our daily life and work. Acknowledging the impact on the daily wage earners subject to quarantine measures, more..

May 8 (NR) SL recorded the highest single day rise in COVID-19 deaths yesterday, confirming 19 fatalities. Accordingly SL�s coronavirus death toll rose to 764. Eight females and 11 males were among the victims. The male victims were 50, 53, 60, 65, 68, 72, 74, 75, 76, 82 and 86 years of age while the female victims were 45, 54, 63, 65, 68, 72, 75 and 80 years of age. The Department said the deceased are residents of Sunandapura, Ilavalai, Kongahawela, Ratmalana, Dehiattakandiya, more..

May 8 (FT) An embattled Govt yesterday acknowledged SL is facing bed shortages, scrambling to increase capacity at the district level, secure wards at small hospitals for asymptomatic patients, and preparing guidelines to treat patients at home to dam the rising tide of infections. The country is facing a bed crunch after it was hit by the third wave of the pandemic, with over 18,000 persons currently under medical care and more..

May 8 (FT) We have become almost a single narrative world, but it feels as if the fever may be breaking as more and more evidence stockpiles making the cult Covidian religion harder and harder to sustain, despite the usual anguished declarations from those most invested in the narrative. We continue to get misleading death stats here locally, and we are not alone in this. On 4 May, the published Lanka list of 13 decedents included the following comorbidities: more..

May 8 (CT) Acting Director of Apeksha Hospital Maharagama, Dr. Lalith Poddalagoda said that the hospital was currently treating 22 Cancer patients infected with COVID-19. Cancer treatment was neglected when COVID-19 infected cancer patients were transferred to other treatment facilities for the viral infection, he said. Also Oncologists at the cancer hospital too found it difficult to go to those hospitals and treat cancer patients. He said that a COVID treatment facility had been set up more..

May 8 (Island) The police are busy, these days, arresting, as they do, scores of ordinary people daily for violating the Covid-19 protocol. They are shown on television bundling offenders into police vehicles. They deserve public plaudits for taking such swift action against the quarantine law violators, who are a threat to others. But, unfortunately, these laws do not apply to the ruling party politicians. Transport Minister Gamini Lokuge stands accused of having had the pandemic-related restrictions more..

May 8 (NR) Experts confirm the main COVID-19 variant spreading across Sri Lanka at present, is the B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 UK variant. The variant has been detected from samples obtained from Colombo, Kalutara, Kandy, Kurunegala, Polonnaruwa and Mannar. The UK variant has been detected from 66 samples during recent tests. Samples obtained from the Colombo MC area, Homagama and Boralesgamuwa and several outstation areas contained UK variant. more..

May 8 (DM) The country might soon face a COVID disaster of unprecedented major proportions where we would even have to be selective as to whom we would treat and whom we are compelled to succumb to the disease, Medical Professionals warned today. In a letter to the President, SL Medical Association (SLMA), Govt Medical Officers' Association (GMOA), Association of Medical Specialists (AMS), together with SLMA more..

May 8 (wsws) As India is ravaged by a tsunami of the COVID-19 cases accounting for almost half of the global daily total, SL is facing a new surge along with other countries in the region. Dr. Olivia Nieveras, officer-in-charge of the WHO�s Colombo office, last week urged SL to take �the latest coronavirus surge seriously.� The new surge among the country�s 22 million people has shattered repeated claims by Prez Rajapakse that, unlike other countries, SL has brought the pandemic more..

May 8 (DM) A Red alert on thundershowers accompanied by severe lightning has been issued for 14 districts, Dept of Meteorology said today. They said fairly heavy rainfalls about 100 mm can be expected in Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western & Western provinces and in Galle, Matara and Polonnaruwa districts. Accordingly, the 14 districts including Mannar, Puttlam, kurunegala, Matale, Kandy, Gampaha, Kegalle, Nuwaea-Eliya, Badulla, Colombo, Kalutara, Ratnapura, Galle more..

May 8 (NR) Experts confirm the main COVID-19 variant spreading across Sri Lanka at present, is the B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 UK variant. The variant has been detected from samples obtained from Colombo, Kalutara, Kandy, Kurunegala, Polonnaruwa and Mannar. Director of the Dept of Immunology and Molecular Medicine of Uni of Sri J'pura Dr. Chandima Jeewandara said the UK variant has been detected from 66 samples more..

May 8 (Island) UNP leader and former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Thursday that the govt was now seeing the consequences of giving Dhammika Peniya to the people all over the country while other countries in the world were conducting research to control the coronavirus pandemic. Wickremesinghe said that if the number of ICU beds had at least been increased as he had said a year back, it would have been strength to face the current situation. Wickremesinghe made these remarks at more..

May 8 (EN) SL should use modern fertilizer technology, manage risks and overcome challenges of using organic fertilizer in well thought out process instead of banning chemical fertilizer outright, a fertilizer technology researcher and practitioner has suggested. �The decision to ban chemical fertilizer importation and usage should have been given more thought considering the scientific evidence rather than taking such a haphazard decision,� Ranil Waliwitiya, founder of Canada based more..

May 8 (EN) China is looking at contracting SL biotech company to fill and finish Sinopharm vaccines in Sri Lanka the country�s embassy in Colombo said as the World Health Organization approved the jab for emergency uses. �The Embassy is working closely with #SriLankan authorities to encourage biotech companies from China � SL to collaborate on vax filling lines in the island,� embassy said in a twitter exchange more..