Sri Lanka shuts schools after 'mystery' Covid case

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2020/10/06 16:30

Today's Vocabulary

1. outskirts (n)  
the areas that form the edge of a town or city

2. imposed (v) 
to officially force a rule, tax, punishment, etc. to be obeyed or received

3. clusters (n) 
a group of similar things that are close together, sometimes surrounding something

4. repatriated (v)
to send or bring someone, or sometimes money or other property, back to the country that he, she, or it came from

5. shock waves (n)
 
a very strong reaction that spreads through a group of people when something surprising or bad happens

6. resumed (v) 
to start something again after a pause or period of time

7. normalcy (n) 
the state of being normal

8. suspend (v)
to stop something from being active, either temporarily or permanently

Sri Lanka shuts schools after 'mystery' Covid case

Sri Lanka has announced an early end to school terms after a factory worker in the town of Divulapitiya – on the outskirts of the capital Colombo – tested positive for Covid-19. Curfew has been imposed in the town.

The unidentified woman’s daughter has since tested positive, along with at least 69 other workers at the factory. It is unclear how the woman contracted the virus.

Sri Lanka’s cases of Covid-19 have been contained to specific clusters so far. The health ministry says there have been 3,471 cases and 13 deaths recorded there since March.

Since then, the country has shut down the airport for commercial flights and has only been allowing in repatriated citizens – who have to spend a month in quarantine. This is the first reported case in weeks.

Officials are now conducting more tests, and have placed more than 1,000 people in quarantine. They are also attempting to trace where and how the woman may have contracted the virus.

The news sent shock waves through a country where life had resumed pre-pandemic normalcy. Officials have asked people to suspend all non-essential travel. Panic buying has been reported in some areas.

Resource: https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-54382914

Discussion
  1. What can governments do to stop a pandemic?
  2. Do you think scientists will find a cure for the coronavirus?
  3. How serious is a global pandemic?

“These so-called bleak times are necessary to go through in order to get to a much, much better place.”

David Lynch