Sri Lanka to lift quarantine curfew on Friday
Health guidelines to be introduced to curtail movement
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s ongoing islandwide quarantine curfew will be lifted at 4.00 a.m. Friday (Oct 1), the Department of Government Information announced on Wednesday (29), quoting the head of the National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 outbreak, Army Commander General Shavendra Silva, as saying the curfew is being lifted on the instructions of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The Department also said restrictions and strict health guidelines to be followed after the curfew is lifted, currently being prepared, would be announced by the Director-General of Health Services shortly.
Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, tweeting the President’s instructions said guidelines would be imposed to curtail movement and curb further spread of the novel coronavirus.
A nationwide quarantine curfew came into effect on August 20 as Sri Lanka faced a third wave of COVID-19 infections triggered by the highly contagious Delta variant. The curfew however allowed workers in the essential service and several selected sectors to continue their work. However, figures provided by health authorities showcased the curfew as being effective with a steady decline in the number of new infections and deaths.
Sri Lanka has so far reported 516,209 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 12,847 deaths, with 941 new cases and 61 deaths reported on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA), proposing a “restrained, phased, and well-monitored” exit strategy for the quarantine curfew in order to avoid another wave of the epidemic, issued a series of recommendations on Wednesday that included extending many of the current restrictions and stringent monitoring of the COVID-19 cases and deaths for early detection of a potential next wave.
It also urged the public to continue with all public health and social measures in reducing the spread of the virus, noting that though the number of patients requiring critical care, oxygen and the number of COVID-19 related deaths is decreasing, it was evident that transmission of the virus, and in particular the more virulent Delta variant, is still continuing at a very high rate.
-ENCL