Sri Lanka closed its international airports in mid-March following the COVID epidemic (representative)
Colombo:
Sri Lanka has also delayed the reopening of its international airport from August 1, saying it must take steps to bring back Sri Lankan workers stranded abroad due to travel restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Sri Lanka closed its international airports in mid-March following the COVID-19 epidemic.
The government intended to open its international airports by August 1, as no community transmission of COVID-19 had been reported since late April.
However, the President of the Airport Authority, retired Major General GA Chandrasiri, said that Colombo International Airport will not be reopened on August 1 and will be delayed further.
“The delay is due to the need to make arrangements to bring Sri Lankan expatriates home,” he said.
“We have already slaughtered around 12,000 – 40,000 others have yet to be brought back,” said Chandrasiri.
“The priority right now is to allow them to allow their return,” added Chandrasiri.
The decision will be a major blow to the island’s tourism authorities as they prepare to welcome tourists back to the country from August onwards as part of strict measures to boost the tourism sector which has been crippled by the coronavirus pandemic.
The country has been reopened in stages since mid-May and health officials say no pandemic has been reported since April 30.
Sri Lanka has registered only 11 deaths out of just over 2,000 positive cases. No deaths reported since June 1st.
The health authorities have set up a PCR test mechanism at Colombo airport for all returnees. They must undergo quarantine upon their return.
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
