Deputy Director General of Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath has warned that the Omicron virus variant may have already entered the country.
Speaking during a media briefing today Dr. Herath said individuals with the variant are not labelled or flagged and cannot be determined to carry the variant unless subject to gene-sequencing.
Dr. Herath added the variant cannot be identified instantly, claiming that testing is costly, and is a time-consuming process.
Therefore, he stated that high risk groups are identified and a select group’s PCR samples are directed for gene-testing.
Dr. Herath said all general measures in addition have been enforced within airports
