Extending lockdown until Oct. 2 ‘could save up to 10,000 lives’

COLOMBO: Doctors say the real COVID-19 death toll in Sri Lanka is at least twice as high and authorities have resorted to mass cremations to clear bodies piling up at hospitals and morgues.

The health experts said in a report, seen by AFP, that extending the lockdown until October 2 could save up to 10,000 lives.

Sri Lanka has extended a stringent coronavirus curfew for another week after reporting its highest daily death toll of more than 200.

Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the nationwide lockdown had been extended until Sept. 6.

The announcement came as 33 leading health professionals, including World Health Organization experts in Sri Lanka, called for even tougher restrictions.

After resisting pressure for a lockdown for several weeks, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa agreed on a 10-day closure from August 20 amid warnings that hospitals could no longer cope with the spread of the Delta strain.

The government has relied on a vaccination drive to counter the spread of the virus.

More than 6.4 million of the 21 million population have received two vaccine doses but the caseload has still overwhelmed hospitals.

The country’s main National Hospital in Colombo is reported to be at breaking point with hundreds of staff testing positive and no more intensive care beds available, AFP reported.