Sri Lanka's Coronavirus cases top 20k mark

Colombo: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Sri Lanka on Monday surpassed the 20,000 mark after 400 new infections were reported.

The Health Ministry said that the national tally has now increased to 20,171 with 87 deaths and 14,069 recoveries, reports Xinhua news agency.

There were four more deaths registered on Sunday, official data showed.

Health authorities on Monday lifted the isolation status in certain areas in the capital Colombo, citing a decline in cases detected locally.

Still, residents in the areas with restrictions eased are urged to strictly follow all health guidelines while other areas remaining in isolation, health officials said.

Following a decline seen in infections since the second wave of the pandemic last month, all schools other than in Western Province re-opened on Monday after being closed from the first week of October.

Education Minister G.L. Peiris said strict health guidelines will be followed in all schools for the health safety of the children, and that classes from grade 1 to 5 will not reopen until further notice.

Sri Lanka has made it mandatory to wear face masks and maintain social distance in public places and anyone caught breaking the rules will be punished.

The South Asian country has suffered a second wave of the pandemic since the first week of October.

More than 740,000 coronavirus tests have so far been conducted across the country.

Health officials said Sri Lanka's health care facilities were adequate to treat the increasing number of patients.