COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s ongoing travel restrictions, set to be relaxed on Monday (7), has been extended to June 14, with no breaks in-between.
The Department of Government Information, in a statement quoting Army Commander and head of the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID – 19 Outbreak (NOCPCO), General Shavendra Silva, on Wednesday (2), said the restrictions will be lifted at 4:00 a.m. on June 14. It did not give any explanation for the extension, though Sri Lanka’s daily COVID-19 count continues to hover near the 3000 mark, with 3,306 new cases confirmed on Wednesday.
Sri Lankan authorities imposed curfew-style island-wide travel restrictions from 11:00 p.m. May 13 to 4:00 May 17, and again from 11:00 p.m.May 21 to 4:00 a.m. May 25, before announcing the ongoing restrictions, which initially had 19-hour relaxations on May 31 and June 4, and extended only till June 7.
The lockdown was called for by medical experts in various affiliated fields who warned the daily caseloads were pushing the health services to the brink.
Sri Lanka last week reduced the number of PCR tests carried out across the country, even as health authorities clamped new restrictions on private and volunteer testing. Despite the moves, new COVID-19 cases continued to surge, with the country now recording 192,547 cases in total with 30,267 requiring medical care at various designated hospitals and 160, 714 deemed recovered.
Sri Lanka has also recorded an upsurge in COVID-19 related fatalities, with 39 deaths reported on Wednesday, taking the tally to 1566.
-ENCL