31 January 2020 10.00 am
Facebook will remove posts, photos and videos that peddle harmful misinformation about the coronavirus, the company announced , seeking to crack down on a wave of content pitching false cures to the fast-spreading global health crisis.
31 January 2020 09:50 am
Chinese officials announced more than 3,100 new cases of the coronavirus as the total number of people infected in China reached 9,720 as of Friday morning Beijing time, including nine cases in the self-governing island of Taiwan.
The United States confirmed a sixth U.S. case of the Wuhan coronavirus , marking the first time the virus has spread from person to person in the United States
31 January 2020 08:50 am
The new coronavirus has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization, as the outbreak continues to spread outside China, BBC reports.
“The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
30 January 2020 07:48 am
The nationwide death toll from China”s novel coronavirus epidemic has jumped to 170 with 38 more fatalities reported mainly from the worst-affected central Hubei province, the government said on Thursday, while confirming more than 1,700 new infections.
29 January 2020 11:40 pm
“It is believed that there is no need for the Sri Lankan public to fear the in-coming Chinese nationals after the Chinese lunar New Year holidays as all exit and entry channels to Wuhan have been temporarily closed and it is impossible for local people to travel to other places including Sri Lanka”
The Chinese Embassy in Colombo issuing a statement said
29 January 2020 11:22 am
The United Arab Emirates announced Wednesday its first case of the new coronavirus, in a family from Wuhan, in what is thought to be the first confirmed case in the Middle East.
“The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention announced a case of the new coronavirus affecting people from one family coming from the city of Wuhan in China,” the state news agency WAM reported, without saying how many were infected.
29 January 2020 09:19 am
The number of people infected by the deadly Coronavirus outbreak has risen to nearly 6,000 in China, reports on Wednesday said. The virus originating from China’s Wuhan has claimed the lives of 132 people in the country, while 5,974 new cases have been confirmed.
29 January 2020 07:12 am
Chinese companies, operating in Sri Lanka, are reported to have directed their employees who have recently returned from China after the Chinese New Year festivities to undergo a 14-day period of self isolation before confirming they are not carriers of the coronavirus and are free of any symptoms.
28 January 2020 07:38 pm
The Chinese Embassy in Colombo has informed its nationals from the new Coronavirus affected areas including Hubei Province to cancel or postpone their visits to Sri Lanka, Embassy sources said.
28 January 2020 06:43 pm
A 30-year-old Sri Lankan woman, who was suspected to have contracted coronavirus, has been transferred from Balapitiya Hospital to the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) this afternoon, Hospital sources said.
It was reported that the woman was an employee of a tourist Hotel in Ahungalle.
28 January 2020 12:34 pm
The Health Ministry today introduced a 24-hour hotline to obtain information on new Coronavirus. Accordingly, people can contact the health officials via 0710 107 107 or 011 307 1073 to get information on the virus.
28 January 2020 12:09 pm
All Sri Lankan students arriving from Wuhan, China would be moved to the Diyathalawa Army Camp for a two-week quarantine for any coronavirus symptoms, the Health Ministry said.
28 January 2020 07:10 am
Airport and Aviation Services of Sri Lanka has announced that all visitors except the passengers have been prohibited from entering the Banadaranaike International Airport (BIA) premises from 6 am today until further notice, in order to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus 2019.
Several people in Colombo are seen wearing face masks as a precautionary measure to prevent being infected from new Coronavirus. (Pic Courtesy Daily Mirror)
28 January 2020 06:56 am
Issuing of ‘On arrival visas’ for tourists from China has been suspended with immediate effect, due to the current coronavirus situation, Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said.
“The decision was made to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus 2019,” the minister told media during a visit to the Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake last night.
28 January 2020 12:10 am
The Medical Unit at the Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake said that 50 Sri Lankan students who were studying in China returned in two flights Monday evening.
Dr. Chandika Bandara Wickremasuriya of the Medical Unit said all the students were in good health and they had all returned to their homes.
27 January 2020 12:15 pm
The passengers arriving from China are being screened through a separate terminal at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) as a precautionary measure, BIA sources said.
They said the BIA has taken all measures to prevent the coronavirus infected patients from entering the country with a high-tech screening mechanism at the Airport (BIA)
27 January 2020 07:38 am
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Affairs Ministry yesterday said that there were no restrictions on issuing visas to Chinese travelers to Sri Lanka, but all those arriving from the areas affected by the coronavirus will have a special mark on their ETA so that they will be subjected to quarantine upon their arrival.
26 January 2020 07:38 pm
On the instructions of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, SriLankan Airlines has taken steps to facilitate the return home of Sri Lankan students who are currently in China, the airlines said.
The National Carrier is immediately providing a 50% discount to students who wish to return on the airline’s regular scheduled flights from Beijing and Canton.
26 January 2020 02:02 pm
Steps had been taken to bring back 150 Sri Lankan students from Chengdu in Sichuan Province, China through a special flight within the next 48 hours, the President’s Media Division said.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had earlier directed authorities to take necessary steps to repatriate all Sri Lankan students in the Wuhan and Sichuan cities in China.
26 January 2020 12:11 pm
The four patients who had been admitted at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) in Colombo on suspicion of Corona Virus infection had been kept under observation although they were recovering and the initial reports were negative, Senior Epidemiologist of the Epidemiology Unit Dr Sudath Samaraweera said.
Four people including two Chinese nationals are being examined at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) in Colombo on suspicion that they were infected by the Corona Virus.
A Sri Lankan male and a female and two Chinese women were admitted to the IDH showing symptoms of cold and sore throat.
25 January 2020 09:34 pm
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed the Foreign Relations Ministry to get back all Sri Lankan students in Wuhan, China as soon as the Chinese authorities lift the travel restrictions to the province. The President’s Office said there were 30 students in Wuhan
25 January 2020 08:23 PM
Two females including a Chinese woman have been admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) in Angoda on suspicion of having contracted the coronavirus, hospital sources said.
They said that samples have been sent to Medical Research Institute (MRI) for further examination.
25 January 2020 02:47 pm
The number of people killed by the coronavirus has risen to 41 from 26 a day earlier, as the outbreak has spread from China to 11 other countries.
China’s National Health Commission reported a jump in the number of people infected to 1,287.
All 41 coronavirus deaths have been in China, including 39 in the Hubei province, the centre of the outbreak, one in Hebei and one in Heilongjiang.
The virus has also been detected in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Nepal, France, the US, Australia and Malaysia.