Apr 25 (DM) Veteran coach Thilaka Jinadasa has decided to quit as Sri Lanka’s national netball coach. She will officially convey her decision to the Netball Federation of SL (NFSL) once the prevailing situation in the country eases, Jinadasa disclosed. A top level netball coach in the Asian region having guided Sri Lanka to triumph in the Asian Championships twice in 2009 and 2018, Jinadasa was preparing the national team for the 2020 event scheduled to be held in June before it more..

Apr 25 (Island) With uncertainty remaining over when life will return to normal due to ongoing nationwide lockdown, cricket is not amongst the priority in peoples’ lives. But all cricket boards – except maybe India and England will feel the pinch due to loss of revenue. SLC was expected to make record profits this year with India slotted tour the island in July. But alarming bells have started to ring with uncertainty on future. more..

Apr 25 (DN) Treasury Secretary Sajith Attygalle assured that the Govt has settled all foreign and local loans despite outstanding the implications of the Covid 19 crisis. “There was an outstanding foreign loan component of US$ 1.3 billion as of April 20, 2020 and we have settled that in full by now, he assured. He also said that the local component outstanding up to now has also been settled up now. He further said that there was an outstanding about of US $ 3.2 billion for the rest of the year more..

Apr 25 (DN) A team of engineers has developed a digital Platform for Mahaweli farmers. This application has an interface with the Mahaweli Authority, (MASL) where all the input details will be updated at MASL end. The app has two main buttons as selling and Production Details. Under the selling button, Farmer can present their item for selling by indicating product type, quantity, contact No and location in the google map where buyers can find him. In the Production details button, more..

Apr 25 (Island) The SL Association of Govt Medical Laboratory Technologists (SLAGMLT) alleged that the govt was seeking to involve some selected private hospitals in the RT-PCR testing process to identify COVID-19 patients, though available public sector facilities were yet to be fully utilized. The General Secretary of the Association, Sanjeewa Sirimanna, emphasized there was absolutely no requirement, more..

Apr 25 (DM) Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) said it has modified a Y-12 aircraft as an air ambulance which is capable of conducting medical evacuation operations for critically ill ventilated patients if required by health officials in their effort to control the COVID-19 outbreak. The SLAF said the No 8 Squadron at SLAF Base Ratmalana has modified the Y-12 aircraft as an Air Ambulance on the instructions of the Air Force Commander Sumangala Dias. The modified aircraft has been fitted more..

Apr 25 (EN) The islandwide curfew will be lifted on Monday, April 27 at 5 am Police Headquarters announced with conditions imposed on inter-district travel. In a media statement issued at 1.25 am this morning April 25, the police said travel in and out of the areas deemed high-risk districts, Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Puttalam is banned. There is no mention of the time the curfews are being re-imposed. The surprising move came as three more confirmed cases were reported this morning. more..

Apr 25 (Island) The Civil Aviation Authority of SL (CAASL) has informed all airlines that the maximum permitted transit time at the BIA in Colombo for any passenger transiting via BIA should strictly be not more than 12 hours. Chairman of CAASL Upul Dharmadasa said, in a statement, that all transit passengers must strictly have a confirmed onward connection out of BIA to an onward destination. more..

Apr 25 (FT) The Navy (SLN) will subject 400 sailors from the Welisara Naval Station to PCR tests today after 35 sailors tested positive for the COVID-19 virus yesterday. “SLN has taken steps to conduct over 400 PCR tests per day from today. Our request to the public is not to be unduly worried about this situation as SLN has already taken immediate steps to contain the spread of COVID-19,” the Ministry of Defence reported, quoting Navy Commander Vice Admiral Piyal de Silva. more..

Apr 25 (AD) Three more persons have tested positive for COVID-19, raising total cases count in Sri Lanka to 420, the Ministry of Health says. 304 coronavirus cases are currently under medical care at IDH, Welikanda Base Hospital, Colombo East Base Hospital, Base Hospital in Kattankudy and Iranawila Hospital. A total of 109 coronavirus patients have been discharged from hospitals after recovering completely. The island has confirmed 7 fatalities due to COVID-19 thus far. more..

Apr 25 (FT) As Sri Lanka hit a new daily high of 49 reported COVID-19 patients and the total number of cases shot past 400, the Govt scrambled to expand PCR testing capacities by getting universities and the private sector more involved. The record number of newly diagnosed patients brought the total number of cases to 417. According to Ministry of Health, 301 active patients were undergoing treatment as of last night. more..

Apr 25 (SLN) In assistance to the Navy’s quarantine programme to control the spread of coronavirus in the country a stock of required healthcare outfits and equipment was donated to the SL Navy, at the Naval Headquarters, today (24). The Navy is carrying out a number of programmes to control the spread of the coronavirus in the country. Extending their corporation for these programmes conducted by Navy to suppress fatal coronavirus, People’s Republic of China donated a stock of healthcare outfits more..

Apr 25 (DN) Galle Police arrested drivers and conductors of three private commuter buses for allegedly transporting passengers contravening health and clinical regulations imposed by the govt and health authorities following the relaxations of curfew laws. The officials of the Galle police traffic division launched a special operation to inspect the public transport services over their practice of health and clinical advice given by the authorities. more..

Apr 25 (AD) Transmission of COVID-19 virus from mother to baby in utero has not been verified yet, says the Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe. He made this remark speaking on the pregnant woman who had contracted the novel coronavirus. On Friday (24), it was reported that a pregnant woman from Maradana who was admitted to De Soysa Hospital for Women in Colombo 8, has tested positive for COVID-19. It was later confirmed that the woman has suffered a miscarriage. more..

Apr 25 (FT) Central Bank yesterday approved Union Bank’s request to cease operations as a Primary Dealer, the monetary authority said in a statement. The general public is hereby informed that having considered the request made by the Union Bank of Colombo (UBC), the Monetary Board of the Central Bank has granted approval for UBC to cease its operations as a Primary Dealer with effect from 1 May, it said. UBC will continue to function as a Dealer Direct Participant in the LankaSettle system and more..

Apr 25 (AD) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has briefed the Maha Sangha on the measures taken by the Govt to control the spread of COVID-19 virus and the progress made so far, the President’s Media Division (PMD) says. During a meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday , the President has explained about the control of the spread, quarantine process, reliefs granted to people and future measures to revive the national economy. more..

Apr 25 (EN) SL is testing a dog for Coronavirus after it developed symptoms similar to Covid-19, in a areas where there were large numbers of confirmed patients, a media report said. “I have given permission for the dog to be tested,” Director General of Health Service, Anil Jasinghe said. “This disease was originally suspected to have jumped from animals to humans.” The stray dog had been found around the Suduwella area where a person who has engaged in substance abuse was first confirmed and more..

Apr 25 (AD) Another batch of Sri Lankan students, who were stranded in Mumbai, India due to the COVID-19 outbreak, has been repatriated this afternoon. The special flight (UL144), chartered by the SriLankan Airlines, has touched down at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) with 163 local students. The repatriated students are to be directed to the mandatory quarantine process. The flight had departed for Mumbai at 9.10 am today and returned to the Katunayake Airport at around 2.35 pm. more..

Apr 25 (AD) Ongoing curfew in Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara & Puttalam districts will continue until 5 am on the 4th of May. Curfew in all other districts will be lifted at 5 am on Monday (27) and re-imposed at 8 pm on the same day. Curfew in these districts will be relaxed between 5 am and 8 pm every day until the 1st of May. However, curfew in Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Puttalam districts will be eased from May 4 in order to facilitate the functioning of public and private sector institutions. more..

Apr 25 (DM) Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of SL (TRCSL) said they had come to notice that illegal digital satellite television service (DTH service / Dish TV) providers are advertising unverified through social media platforms. They said that immediate actions had been taken to stop this illegal activity. The TRCSL also requested the people to be cautious when making payments for such illegal satellite television service providers. People can log on to the TRCSL official website more..

Apr 25 (AD) SriLankan Airlines has extended the temporary suspension of its scheduled passenger flights until 15th May, 2020. The decision comes as the travel restrictions imposed by foreign countries on the national carrier’s global network continue to be in place due to the COVID 19 pandemic. However, its cargo services will continue to operate from its worldwide network, facilitating essential supplies of medical resources, equipment as well as perishable cargo in support of govts and industries more..

Apr 25 (EN) SL has not taken decision to allow private sector labs to conduct Coronavirus tests officials said, while a philosophy against voluntary or precautionary community screening of those at risk had also not changed according to what health official say. SL had had discussion with private hospitals about using their capacity to expand testing, the head of Health Service Anil Jasinghe said on Friday but no decision was taken to allow them to conduct tests. more..

Apr 25 (EN) A man was arrested in Matara today for attempting to cross districts amid the COVID-19 curfew, posing as a doctor, police said. DIG Ajith Rohana told reporters this evening that the suspect had tried to present himself as an employee of a private hospital in Ragama. According to Rohana, he had also put up a sticker on his vehicle’s windscreen to signal his supposed profession, with a stethoscope on the dashboard for good measure. Having started his journey from the Gampaha district, the DIG said, more..

Apr 25 (EN) Sri Lanka says the downgrading of the island’s sovereign rating from ‘B’ to ‘B-‘ is ill-timed, illogical and a rush judgement. “The Government of Sri Lanka finds the decision of the Fitch Ratings to revise the country ratings to ‘B-‘ from ‘B’, illogical and ill-timed and wishes to categorically disagree with the assessment of risks for Sri Lanka,” the finance ministry said. “In contrast to the experience of many other countries, the Govt would like to stress that in Sri Lanka, more..

Apr 25 (AD) Five new cases of novel coronavirus have been confirmed in Sri Lanka, says the Ministry of Health. The positive cases tally soared to 440 as a total of 20 persons tested positive for COVID-19 within the day. Earlier today, 15 positive cases were reported including 7 from the quarantine facility in Kattankudy and one from Bandaranayake Mawatha in Colombo 12, four from Welisara Navy Base and another one from Monaragala Hospital. Meanwhile, two more patients recovered from more..

Apr 26 (SO) The Govt has rightly decided to relax the curfew in all areas from May 4 as continuing the daytime curfew for another month or so could result in an economic catastrophe. The economy has already suffered immensely as a result of the curfew and subsequent suspension of almost all economic and social activities. However, this was deemed essential to control the coronavirus pandemic. We have now seen over 400 infections and seven deaths, which is much better than developed more..

Apr 26 (Island) Whether the curfew will be lifted tomorrow as previously announced, in Colombo and the other districts where it has continued for several days, was unclear when this was being written. Decisions to relax the curfew have been announced before and changed subsequently. Nobody could be blamed for this as the responsible authorities are confronted by a moving target with the ground situation changing not by the days but by the hour. There is no escaping the reality that more..

Apr 26 (Roar) It takes roughly 10 minutes to wear the entire ensemble; the complete outfit of any doctor or nurse tending to a patient who has contracted the COVID-19. It is cumbersome and confining. The outfit is also the primary protection for the health care workers who are at immediate risk of being infected themselves in this pandemic. Dr Priyankara Jayawardana, a consultant physician, tested positive for more..

Apr 26 (CT) Act fast and do whatever it takes is the subtitle of a new book (Mitigating the COVID Economic Crisis: Act Fast and Do Whatever It Takes) edited by Richard Baldwin and Beatrice Weder di Mauroe, and published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research, London. The book is a collection of real time commentaries primarily on the actions that are being taken and ought to be taken by developed countries to mitigate their Covid economic crises, and to a lesser extent more..

Apr 26 (FT) Even before the outbreak of the pandemic, the socio political system and the economy of SL were not in a satisfactory state; rather they were in a state of decay and on the verge of near collapse. The pandemic has only exacerbated the situation, accelerating the pace of the process by two to threefold. The fact that Sri Lanka gained independence without a collective effort had rendered it impossible to lay a solid foundation for the growth of social, political more..

Apr 26 (FT) A year has gone by since the Easter Sunday massacre in SL. Innocent blood was shed by a group of radicalised Lankan Muslims pledging allegiance to the IS. That barbaric bombing – and its fear-filled aftermath – shaped the year that followed. Arguably its most significant progeny was the landslide presidential victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The first anniversary of the massacre was commemorated in the midst more..

Apr 26 (CT) The SL Army has taken over security on the outer perimeter of Parliament, a move the military claims is due police officers being call out on coronavirus duty but has raised questions about whether President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fears a showdown with the Parliament he dissolved after elections were delayed. The military was put in charge of securing Parliament on Thursday Colombo Telegraph learns soon after several MPs expressed the view that gazette dissolving Parliament more..

Apr 26 (ST) The legality or the lack thereof of the ongoing curfew was briefly taken to a Court of Law this week during a bail application on behalf of an actor turned politician turned attention- grabber. The Police was not ready to challenge the defence counsel’s argument that the curfew was illegal and while the accused got bail, the question of the legality of the curfew was not what was adjudicated upon. The curfew has been imposed under the provisions of the 1897 Quarantine and more..

Apr 26 (ST) My dear Gota maamey, I know you are very busy these days dealing with this coronavirus menace, but I thought I should still write to you, what with all this fuss and bother about whether we should have elections as quickly as possible or not. It is sure to be an issue that will not go away in a hurry – just like the coronavirus. Most people thank you for the situation we find ourselves in, despite the coronavirus. If not for the difficult decision you took to virtually shut down the country more..

Apr 26 (SO) School cricket fever has dropped as the focus worldwide has been centered on finding a cure for the Covid-19 epidemic. But the sooner we overcome the coronavirus crisis, the big question in sports would be as to who the top winners of the recently concluded inter-school cricket season are. Who will win the prestigious Observer-Mobitel Schoolboy and Schoolgirl Cricketers of the Year 2020 titles? The answer to these questions, sought by thousands of schoolboy cricketers and more..

Apr 26 (CT) Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa discusses revitalising the economy, while containing the COVID-19 crisis, with Chief Advisor to the Prez, Lalith Weeratunga. Q: First of all, Your Excellency, are you satisfied with the course of action the State had taken over the past few months to suppress COVID-19 virus from spreading? A: From the labourer in the health sector's lowest rank to Public Health Inspectors, nurses, more..

Apr 26 (SO) As the lockdown has marked its presence for over a month and sport is lost in an unprecedented silence, the Sunday Observer caught up with the cricket captains of some renowned schools of Colombo, finding out as to how they are coping with this abnormal situation. For Johanne de Zilva, from St. Joseph’s College, cruising on a purple-patch, the coronavirus landed in the worst of times. The Darley Road lads had registered a pre-quarter final berth and more or less more..

Apr 26 (ST) With the number of COVID-19 patients reaching beyond 420, the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) is forced to keep a close tab on the developments, as they expect a full safety clearance from the health authorities before recommencing the Dialog Schools League 2019/20. Vice President Susantha Mendis told the Sunday Times that the SLSRFA is left with two options and all will depend on how normalcy returns to the ordinary lives of the Sri Lankans. more..