A doctor and seven staff members including two nurses at the Watupitiwala base Hospital have tested positive for COVID-19.

As a result, Ward 10 at the hospital also been closed down, the Hospital Director confirmed.

Interestingly, it was at the Wathupitiwala Hospital that the controversial "local cure" for COVID19 was first tested. However, it is not yet clear whether the infected doctor and hospital staffers have been given the so-called local cure for the virus.

Dhammika Bandara, the person who invented the so-called medicine, said those who consumed the medicine recovered from COVID19 and their PCR tests turned negative after a few days.

He said it was some doctors who helped him perform "tests" at Wathupitiwala.