As COVID-19 infections surge in Sri Lanka, Jaffna Teach Hospital has issued an urgent request for Medical Equipment noting the need to establish High Dependency Units (HDUs) for the management of seriously ill coronavirus patients.
Sri Lanka is reported to have a higher covid-19 infection rate than India’s, compared on a country population basis, with the government reporting at least 1,742 deaths due to the virus. Sri Lanka’s militarised response to the pandemic has also been heavily criticised with Boram Jang, Legal Advisor at the International Commission of Jurists Asia & the Pacific Programme, noting that it “exacerbates ethnic divides”.
The North-East has been particularly hard-hit by the outbreak of the pandemic due to a lack of medical equipment; the military’s intensified surveillance; and, a travel ban that has impoverished communities across the Tamil homeland and has pushed villagers in Vavuniya to the point of starvation.
The request by the Jaffna Teaching Hospital notes the need to expand its current bed capacity from 4 to 15 but the difficulties of doing so with the current medical equipment it has.
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