Wednesday, 21 October 2020, Colombo: In view of the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Sri Lanka, Coca-Cola’s donation of 16,800 PCR Test Kits and 17,000 Viral Transport Media (VTM) to support the Government of Sri Lanka in conducting urgently required COVID-19 testing in the country together with implementing partner Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) will prove critically useful and timely. The stock of PCR Test kits and VTM were handed over between late August and September to the government health care institutions including the Medical Research Institute (MRI) – Borella, The Teaching Hospital – Kandy, The Teaching Hospital – Karapitiya and The Teaching Hospital – Ragama, thereby strengthening their capacity to respond to the pandemic. Coca-Cola’s donation of PCR test kits and VTM will support the Ministry of Health in identifying those contracted with COVID-19 and in traceability to ensure that necessary precautions are undertaken and to curb the rapid community spread of the virus.
Mr. Lakshan Madurasinghe – Director, Public Affairs, Communication and Sustainability at Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd, said, “Following the very unfortunate emergence of the Minuwangoda cluster of coronavirus cases, we are grateful that our recent donation of 16,800 PCR Test Kits and 17,000 Viral Transport Media (VTM) to government hospitals will prove of great use in testing and tracing these cases to limit the outbreak. We are thankful to our implementing partner, Sri Lanka Red Cross Society and The Coca-Cola Foundation for the provision of funds which enabled us to reach out to key government hospitals and the vulnerable sections of society.”
Adding further, Dr. Mahesh Gunasekara, Director General of Sri Lanka Red Cross Society said, “The Sri Lanka Red Cross is pleased to partner Coca-Cola in implementing its donation of 16,800 PCR Test Kits and 17,000 Viral Transport Media (VTM) for use by health professionals in government hospitals at the time of a crisis where the nation is currently experiencing a spike in local cases of the virus.”
Coca-Cola Sri Lanka had pledged a contribution of LKR 130 million to strengthen the national health response to minimize and combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. This pledge has supported the Ministry of Health (MoH) to cater to its most immediate needs including COVID-19 testing kits and VTM. The pledge also witnessed distribution of packs containing essential food, sanitary items and first aid to over 6,000 families, donation of beverages and raising awareness on COVID-19 prevention measures and basic first aid amongst marginalized sections of society during the lockdown period.