COLOMBO – Sri Lanka on Monday (31) suspended transits and arrivals from Vietnam with immediate effect after the country revealed it had detected a new COVID-19 variant with characteristics of the highly transmissible Indian and UK strains, a top airport official said.
“Passengers with a travel history to Vietnam (including transit) in the past 14-days will not be permitted to disembark in Sri Lanka with immediate effect,” said Shehan Sumanasekara, Chief Director-Operations (All Airports), Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka).
Vietnam announced on Saturday (29) the detection of a new COVID-19 variant within its borders that has characteristics of the deadly Indian variant and the fast-spreading UK variant. The new strain is said to spread quickly by air.
Since late April Vietnam has reported over 6,856 cases and 47 deaths, a Reuters report said.
Meanwhile, a 10-day travel suspension imposed on inbound travellers from May 21 to 31 is slated to be removed from 12.00 midnight Tuesday (June 1). However, all travellers to the country regardless of their inoculation status are required to undergo a 14-day quarantine.
The ban on Indian passengers and others who have visited India in the past 14 days will continue, the official said.
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