COLOMBO, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Army Commander and Head of the National Operations Centre for the Prevention of COVID-19 (NOCPC) Shavendra Silva on Monday urged people to strictly adhere to the health guidelines ahead of the local New Year.
Silva urged people to wear face masks when leaving their homes and to avoid large gatherings to prevent a further spread of the virus.
Sri Lanka will celebrate its local Sinhala and Tamil New Year on Tuesday and Wednesday.
A total of 95,131 positive COVID-19 patients have been detected in the country, according to Health Ministry statistics, while 91,631 had recovered and been released from the hospital, bringing down the active patient count to 2,902.
According to official figures, 598 deaths have been reported from the virus.
Sri Lanka began a mass-scale vaccination program in late January in the Western Province including the capital Colombo, where over 900,000 people have been inoculated, health authorities said. Enditem
