Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi says 19,688 children under the age of 10 have contracted the coronavirus.
Speaking in Parliament today, Minister Wanniarachchi said 26,143 persons between the ages of 10 and 18 have also tested positive for the virus.
The Minister said 14 deaths have been reported of children under 14 years of age.
The Minister said the possibility of administering the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine to children is being explored at present while the final decision will be reached by the Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases.
She said 21,344 COVID-patients and 591 deaths were reported during the past 10 days from the 25th of July, adding 134,179 PCR tests were also conducted.
Minister Wanniarachchi said there was an increase in patients receiving treatment at hospitals in the past 10 days.
The Minister noted patients receiving treatment at hospitals increased to 30,017 by the 1st of August, from the 23,804 patients previously reported on 23rd of July.
She added health officials were able to manage patients receiving treatment at Intensive Care Units between 140-150.
Minister Wanniarachchi claimed all vaccines currently being administered are effective against all COVID variants according to prevailing data and medical experts.
The Minister also stated the daily requirement of oxygen has been noted as 44 tonnes according to data from the first quarter of 2021.
