AMN
Sri Lankan government has decided to begin restoring normalcy with relaxation in curfew and allowing limited office work and economic activities from tomorrow after almost two months of curfew conditions in wake of COVID outbreak.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in a statement said that with the COVID now under control to a certain degree, the government and private sector institutions will begin functioning with a limited number of employees and trains and buses will ply with limited number of passengers.
It said, schools and tuition classes will remain closed and social distancing rules are to be maintained when commencing work. Mr. Rajapaksa said that random sample testing will continue to be carried out and appealed for public support in maintaining social distancing norms. Country’s health minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said that the government does not anticipate the public to converge for unimportant reasons.
She said, the public will be expected to go to their nearest store to purchase essential items and not travel long distance. Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe said that social life will need to change from now. He said that the coronavirus threat has not been fully eliminated and the Quarantine act will continue to be in force.
The move comes as there are still 517 active cases of COVID 19 in the country. 61 out of total 847 COVID 19 patients recovered today bringing the total recoveries to 321 while nine people have died so far. There were eleven positive cases reported yesterday all among navy personnel who constitute more than half of the total cases.