Sri Lanka to relax curfew in Colombo

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Sri Lankan authorities said a curfew in capital Colombo and the outskirts of Gampaha, which was imposed on March 24 to prevent the spread of COVID-19, will be relaxed on Tuesday. A statement from the President's Office said that curfew will now be effective in all districts of the country including Colombo for a shorter period of time daily, from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., as there had been no new patients detected among the public within the past two weeks, reports Xinhua news agency.

The spread of the virus had been contained within one cluster and at the quarantine centres only.

However, the President's Office said, guidelines prescribed by the health authorities to prevent the spread of the coronavirus should be strictly followed during the operations of factories, institutes, offices and shops as well as public transportation.

These guidelines include disinfection, wearing face masks, washing hands from time to time and maintaining social distance.

Police warned that those not adhering to these guidelines will be arrested.

The statement said heads of state and private sector establishments are free to decide on the number and categories of workers to be called for work in consideration of the nature of the services they provide and health guidelines.

"The government requests the public to adhere to health recommendations while engaging in their daily activities even after the curfew is relaxed," the President's Office said.

The authorities said that travel between districts, except for Colombo and Gampaha will also begin from Tuesday but people were strictly advised to maintain social distancing and wearing masks at all times.

Sri Lanka had banned district to district travel since March 20, just days after the first local patient was detected.

Sri Lanka has so far reported more than 1,100 COVID-19 cases, with 10 deaths.