Sri Lankan president says COVID-19 cases are rising again

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president says COVID-19 cases and deaths are rising in the country, and citizens should receive a fourth vaccine dose to prevent a possible surge of the coronavirus. President Ranil Wickremesinghe says there were only three reported COVID-19 deaths in June. That rose to 35 in July, including 28 who succumbed after July 18. There were 283 confirmed cases in June and 1,616 in July, he said. Wickremesinghe says less than 23,000 people have received a fourth vaccine dose, compared to 8 million who received a third dose. Sri Lanka has reported a total of 665,847 confirmed cases and 16,559 deaths from the virus.