Overnight curfew from Monday as Covid deaths cross the 6000 mark
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka on Sunday (15) declared a quarantine curfew from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. effective Monday (16) until further notice, as the Covid-related fatality count crossed the 6000 mark.
A statement from the President’s Office quoting Army Commander, and head of the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak, Gen. Shavendra Silva, said only essential service workers would be allowed to move during curfew hours.
The Department of Government Information, in a statement quoting Gen. Silva, announced that weddings will not be allowed, either in homes or reception halls, from midnight Tuesday (17) until further notice. It said the decision had been taken as yet another step in controlling the COVID-19 outbreak.
It said no gatherings of any sort will be allowed from midnight Sunday and restaurants would be permitted to cater to only 50% of their capacity at a time. However, the government urged the public to refrain from visiting such places as much as possible.
Meanwhile, police and military have been deployed at entry/exit points, including bridges, highways and expressways as well as byroads, to ensure the inter-provincial travel ban that came into effect at midnight on Friday (13), is strictly adhered to.
Police Spokesman, Senior Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Ajith Rohana said stern action will be taken against anyone trying to cross provincial boarders in violation of the inter-province travel ban, adding vehicles that attempt to cross provincial borders for no valid reason continued to be turned back.
He said only essential services and other limited services have been approved to operate across provinces.
Meanwhile, Covid-fatalities continued its upward momentum, with 161 deaths, the highest so far, reported on Sunday, taking Sri Lanka’s Covid-fatality count to 6096. The Director General of Health Service, confirming the deaths, identified the deceased as 83 males and 78 females, 122 of them over the age of 60 and 38 between the ages 30 and 59.
Sunday also saw 3435 new COVID-19 cases being confirmed, taking Sri Lanka’s virus tally to 354,968, with 39,301 under medical care.
-ENCL