Govt. tightens measures to fight COVID-19 as global infections rise

• Imposes mandatory 15-day quarantine for travellers from South Korea, Italy, Iran 
• Passengers from cruise ships banned from disembarking, but services to continue  
• As many as 21 cruise ships scheduled for March   
• Additional counters at BIA
• 19, including three foreigners, hospitalised and under observation

By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya

The Government yesterday introduced several new measures to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, with a mandatory 15-day quarantine period for locals and foreigners travelling from South Korea, Italy, and Iran, as well as a ban on cruise ships from disembarking passengers in the country.

Nineteen people, including three foreigners, are under medical observation, with eleven under observation at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), and three each at the Karapitiya and Kurunegala Teaching Hospitals.   

“Until now, passengers were allowed to enter the country only after a quarantine process, but now, they won’t be allowed to enter at all,” Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Communication and Public Relations Chief Manager Nalin Aponso told the Daily FT.

According to him, the highest numbers are seen from January to April, and a total of 21 cruise ships have been scheduled for March. The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority recorded a total of 16,367 tourist arrivals by sea in February, a slight increase from the February 2018 numbers, where 12,307 tourists arrived by sea.

While explaining that the SLPA does not bring down cruise ships, Aponso said these are done through agents and the SLTDA. However, the SLPA is usually informed of scheduling a month in advance. While Aponso said there has not been a decrease in the number of cruise ships arriving in the country, all agents have been informed of the Government’s decision to ban passengers from disembarking.

“We haven’t said that the cruise ships can’t come to Sri Lanka, as they can do so for services and fuel refilling, but we won’t let passengers disembark,” Health Services Director General Anil Jasinghe said at a press briefing held yesterday, adding that the reason for this was that most passengers on cruise ships were over the age of 50.

“They are more susceptible to these diseases. In addition to this, these cruise ships have passengers from a number of countries. Thus there is a risk, as when they stop at a port for eight or 10 hours, the passengers travel to various parts of the country,” Jasinghe added.

Health and Indigenous Medical Services Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said that apart from the decision on cruise ship passengers, all those travelling from South Korea, Italy, and Iran will have to go through a mandatory quarantine of 15 days.

“While the number of coronavirus cases is rapidly decreasing in China, the virus has spread to a number of countries at an alarming rate,” she said, adding that the Government had decided on the above measures as a precaution.

Anil Jasinghe also commented on the measures taken by the Government, saying, “As the Health Ministry, we are conducting certain risk assessments on the current situation. According to the latest assessment, we don’t see a huge risk from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan.” He added that South Korea, Italy, and Iran were high on the risk assessment.

“Our process, from screening at the airport and monitoring passengers for 14 days, has been further strengthened. As such, passengers from South Korean, Italy, and Iran have been included in this process,” he said.

However, the quarantine process will not be implemented immediately, as the Government is yet to identify facilities that can accommodate the increased number of travellers being monitored. In addition to this, sudden mandatory measures can cause difficulties without due warnings to embassies and respective governments.

“Within the period from 25 to 29 February, there were 419 travellers from South Korea and 726 from Italy,” Jasinghe said, adding that the number of passengers from South Korea, Italy, and Iran are expected to decrease in the coming days, when mandatory quarantine measures are implemented.

“We won’t put down travel bans, especially considering that these countries have good healthcare systems. If there is lockdown in an area, then they anyway can’t leave those areas,” he added.

Further measures have also been taken at entry points, with additional counters at the Bandaranaike International Airport as well as the VIP lounge also being monitored. Measures have also been taken by the Immigration and Emigration Department to detect passengers whose journey originated in South Korea, Italy, or Iran, and direct them to health services for monitoring.

According to Jasinghe, as of Monday, 1,954 people were being monitored by public health officials at their residences or hotels, of which 679 were Sri Lanka, 747 were from China, and 380 were from South Korea. A total of 677 of these individuals were in the Colombo municipality.

The additional measures have resulted in a larger number of passengers being monitored, which Jasinghe said was not an easy task. However, he said this was insignificant in comparison to the virus spreading in Sri Lanka. Thus, despite difficulties, the Government will go ahead with these measures and hope that all entities will cooperate.