Covid-19: Sri Lanka may impose restrictions on overseas returnees

 

Colombo [Sri Lanka], April 18 (ANI): Due to a surge in Covid-19 cases, Sri Lanka may impose restrictions on foreign arrivals reported among the visitors to the island, according to the country's senior health official.

Dr Sudath Samaraweera, the Director of the Epidemiology Unit, on Saturday said around 15 per cent of the positive cases in the country reported this month arrived from overseas, The Colombo Page reported.

Samaraweera said the foreign arrivals to the country have to be regulated to prevent further spread of Covid-19 that has infected over 96,000 people and claimed 615 lives in the country.

"This year, 52,710 Covid patients have been reported in the country and 1,593 of them are patients who came to this country from foreign countries and identified during quarantine. Accordingly, we can see an increase in the number of patients coming from foreign countries. For example, out of 3,480 cases identified in our country so far in April, 538 were from foreign countries and they are being quarantined," he said.

"This includes those arriving from the Middle East and Europe. In this situation we have to review again the management of foreign arrivals to the country," Dr Samaraweera added.

This comes as global COVID-19 deaths crossed the 3 million mark on Saturday, according to the latest update by Johns Hopkins University. As of 04.30 am IST, the total COVID-19 cases worldwide stand at 140,379,953 and the deaths across the world stand at 3,007,708.