Colombo, Dec 10 (IANS): Sri Lanka's overall coronavirus caseload surpassed the 30,000-mark on Thursday after more than 700 people tested positive in the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry.

The Ministry said that out of the total 30,072 confirmed cases, 21,800 recovered and were discharged from hospitals, bringing down the number of active cases to 8,128, reports Xinhua news agency.

The death toll from the pandemic currently stands at 144.

Sri Lanka is currently in the midst of a second wave of pandemic after two new infection clusters were detected in October.

Health authorities said the two clusters in and on the outskirts of Colombo have led to over 25,000 new infections in recent weeks and some parts of the capital city are put under isolation to prevent further spread of the virus.

Nearly 955,000 tests have so far been conducted since the onset of the pandemic.

Sri Lanka has made it a law to wear face masks and maintain social distance, and anyone defying the rules will be fined and may even face a six-month jail term.

Schools in several districts have remained closed since October.