Colombo, Jan 21 (IANS): Sri Lanka's overall coronavirus caseload surpassed the 55,000 mark on Thursday after over 700 people tested positive for the disease, the Health Ministry announced.

According to official figures, out of the 55,189 patients reported to date, 47,215 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, with the number of active cases standing at 7,700, Xinhua news agency reported.

The island nation has so far registered 274 deaths from the virus.

Sri Lanka is presently in the midst of the second wave of the pandemic after two new clusters were detected in October 2020 -- one at a from a garment factory in Minuwangoda and the second at a fish market in Colombo.

Since then, several areas in Colombo have been placed under isolation to prevent a further spread of the pandemic.

Wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing have been made mandatory by the Health Ministry.

The Sri Lankan government recently said that it will start the Covid-19 vaccination program by the end of February or in early March as discussions are ongoing to obtain the vaccines from India, China and Russia.