Rs. 7.3 b provided for COVID-19 relief: Govt.

• Rs. 6.9 b given for Rs. 5,000 allowance, remainder for relief packs
• Rs. 2.7 b allocated for relief in Gampaha; Rs. 2.3 b for Colombo
• Funds also given to Kalutara, Kurunegala and Batticaloa Districts
• Quarantine efforts ongoing in 11 districts

The Government yesterday said it had provided over Rs. 7.3 billion to give relief to people under quarantine in several districts, with the bulk of Rs. 6.9 billion distributed as a Rs. 5,000 allowance and the remainder given as relief packs for families in isolation.    

In a statement, the Government Information Department said the Finance Ministry had provided more than Rs. 7,355.53 million to provide relief to the people under quarantine curfew imposed to control the COVID-19 virus outbreak. 

“These funds were allocated for the above activities up to now after the COVID-19 virus was reported in the Divulapitiya area again. In addition, the Treasury also hopes to allocate further funds as necessary at the request of relevant parties, including Government Agents,” the statement said.  

These funds have been allocated to provide relief packs to families quarantined in their own homes and to provide a relief allowance of Rs. 5,000 to low income families in areas where quarantine curfew has been enforced.

An amount of Rs. 2,721.27 million has been allocated for the Rs. 5,000 relief allowance in the Gampaha District. Rs. 2,333.60 million has been allocated for the Colombo District and Rs. 1,310 million has been allocated for the Kalutara District for this purpose. An amount of Rs. 469.57 million has been allocated for the families in need of relief in Kurunegala District and Rs. 128.39 million has been allocated for the Batticaloa District.

Accordingly, the Government has allocated Rs. 6.9 billion (Rs. 6,962.83 million) during this period to provide an allowance of Rs. 5,000 to families who have lost their livelihoods due to the quarantine curfew.

In the process of providing dry ration packs to the families under home quarantine, a sum of Rs. 75 million has been allocated for the Colombo District. Gampaha and Kalutara Districts have been provided with Rs. 40 million each. A sum of Rs. 24.61 million has been provided for Kurunegala District and Rs. 17.86 million provided for Galle District. 

The amount allocated for the Batticaloa District for this purpose is Rs. 15.92 million and the amount provided for the Nuwara Eliya District is Rs. 15.60 million.

The Government has spent a total of Rs. 336.54 million to provide dry ration packs to families under home quarantine in 20 districts.

In addition the Government has provided Rs. 56.16 million to implement quarantine-related activities in 11 districts.