Sri Lanka's COVID-19 cases top 30,000

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Sri Lanka surpassed the 30,000-mark on Thursday after more than 700 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, showed statistics from the Health Ministry.

According to the ministry, out of the total 30,072 COVID-19 patients reported, 21,800 recovered and were discharged from hospitals, bringing down the number of active cases to 8,128.

The death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic currently stands at 144.Sri Lanka is facing a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic after two new infection clusters were detected in October.

Health authorities said the two clusters in and on the outskirts of capital Colombo have led to over 25,000 new infections in recent weeks and some parts of Colombo are put under isolation to prevent further spread of the virus.

Nearly 955,000 tests for COVID-19 have so far been conducted in the Asian country. Sri Lanka has made it a law to wear face masks and maintain social distance, and anyone defying the rules will be fined and may even face a six-month jail term.

Schools in several districts, including in the capital Colombo, have remained closed since October. (/Xinhua)

( With inputs from ANI )