COLOMBO, May 18 (NNN-XINHUA) – Sri Lankan authorities, yesterday announced that, an island-wide travel restriction will be imposed at 11:00 p.m. local time, on May 21, till 4:00 a.m. on May 25, in order to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
Army Commander and Head of the National Operations Centre for the Prevention of COVID-19, General Shavendra Silva, told Xinhua that, once the island-wide travel restriction, which will be similar to a curfew, is lifted on the morning of May 25, it will be imposed once again at 11:00 p.m. on that day, till 4:00 a.m. on May 28.
He said, people will be given a few hours to go out on May 25, to stock up on essential items.
“We urge people to strictly follow this travel restriction, in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. The coming three weeks are extremely crucial and we hope to break the spread of the virus,” Silva said.
Only essential services and employees from the apparel sector will be permitted to travel during the travel restriction, Silva said.
Sri Lanka detected over 144,000 COVID-19 cases and over 900 deaths. Health experts said, a new variant of the COVID-19 was spreading across the country and has infected over 30,000 people since May.
Sri Lanka imposed a similar island-wide travel restriction from May 13, which was lifted in the early hours of yesterday.
Health experts warned that the new virus has become airborne and strict health guidelines should be followed.– NNN-XINHUA
