He said that what has happened now is not removal of face masks, but only the removal of mandatory face masks and accordingly, there is no ban on using face masks for those who wish to do so.
He said that the mandatory removal of face masks was based on the recommendations of the expert committee and it was done according to the statistics such as the decrease in the prevalence of diseases and the number of deaths at that time.
The Director General of Health Services said this while addressing a press conference held yesterday (July 5) at the Government Information Department.
Dr. Asela Gunawardena, who spoke further, said that people are requested to get the fourth dose of the Covid vaccine to reduce the risk of a new variant.
He also requested to get the fourth dose from the nearest vaccination center as soon as possible as the disease can be avoided even if the vaccine is taken.
Addressing the press conference, the Chief Scientist of the Epidemiology Department of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Samitha Ginige, said that the global corona epidemic has not gone away.
Dr. Ginige also said that the number of people infected with the new strain globally is increasing.
He said that the primary vaccination in Sri Lanka is 100 percent successful, but the immunity is not uniform, so if more than a year has passed since the first and second vaccinations, a booster vaccination should be taken.
He said that about eight million people have received the third dose and those who have not received it should receive the third dose soon.
"The recurrence of this disease is out of our control. But we have experienced the results of vaccination. About 70 percent of deaths in our country are people over sixty and suffering from diseases. Therefore, these groups should take the fourth dose as soon as possible," he said.
Professor Neelika Malavige of the Department of Immunology and Secondary Biology of the University of Sri Jayawardenepura said that new varieties are formed because they adapt to the environment.
She said that it spreads rapidly and affects some countries but not others, and she said that it depends on the immunization program of the country.
She said that 37.12 percent of the total population of Sri Lanka has received the third dose and about 70 other Asian countries have received it.
She also pointed out that those with chronic diseases are affected by the new Omicrons, and with the current situation in Sri Lanka, even if the hospitalization is slightly increased, it may not be possible to bear it at this time.
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