Sri Lanka to relax curfew from Monday

Colombo, April 19 (IANS) The Sri Lankan government has decided to relax the ongoing island-wide curfew which was imposed last month to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, from Monday onwards with the objective of restoring normalcy in the country, the President’s Media Division said.

According to the government directives, the curfew currently in force in all other districts except Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Puttalam, Kandy, Kegalle and Ampara will be lifted at 5 a.m. on Monday, and will be re-imposed at 8 p.m. on the same day, reports the Daily Mirror newspaper.

In the districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Puttalam, the curfew will be lifted at 5 a.m. on Wednesday and will be re-imposed at 8 p.m. daily.

If any area where the curfew has been relaxed happens to be identified as a risk village or a zone, curfew will be re-imposed limiting only to such area.

No one will be permitted to enter or leave areas designated as isolated.

Movements between districts will not be allowed except for essential services including office work.

Schools, universities, tuition classes and other education institutes and cinemas will remain closed until further notice, the Daily Mirror quoted the directives as saying.

Once the curfew is relaxed, state entities including Departments, Corporations and banks will operate as usual.

Measures recommended by the health authorities to control the spread of the virus should strictly be adhered to during office hours.

Busses, vans and rail carriages will be allowed to transport only the half of the passengers of the full capacity.

All forms of functions, pilgrimages and pleasure tours, carnivals, processions and meetings will remain banned until further notice.

The Government has also requested the suspension of all religious festivals.

Sri Lanka has so far reported 254 confirmed coronavirus cases, with seven deaths.

–IANS

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