The Public Health Inspector’s Union of Sri Lanka says all family members of the local woman who was infected by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, have been quarantined.
Chairman of the Union Upul Rohana said an investigation has been launched to find other contacts of the patient.
Rohana said it has also been confirmed that all close contacts of the individual had not obtained any vaccine against COVID-19.
He said the individual is a resident falling under the jurisdiction of the Mahawewa Medical Officer of Health and the Marawila Public Health Inspector.
The Chairman of the Union said the woman and the husband were found to have be staying at a nearby residence when PHIs were attempting to locate her through details obtained from the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health.
Rohana said they quarantined two families adding they will direct all contacts of the woman for quarantine once they are identified.
He said these individuals had not obtained any vaccine doses due to religious beliefs.
Furthermore, PHI Union Chairman Upul Rohana said the woman had attended a religious conference in Nigeria which had been attended by many individuals from African nations adding she confirmed that attention had been paid towards health guidelines.
He said according to international media reports, bio samples from the initial Omicron infected individual who is a South African national were obtained on the 4th of November even though the patient was identified on the 26th of November.
Upul Rohana said this proves that Omicron variant was prevalent in Southern African countries before the 26th of November
