Tourism Minister says no need to panic over new COVID variant

By Charumini de Silva

Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga yesterday said there was no need to panic over the new COVID-19 variant ‘Omicron,’ as the proactive measures taken were adequate to mitigate any risk posed by travellers from other parts of the world.

Sri Lanka on Saturday banned travellers and flights from six southern African countries — South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini – following the discovery and spread of the new variant.

“Europe and the Middle East too have promptly banned the entries from these six countries. These two regions are the popular gateways for any passengers or transit passengers to enter Sri Lanka. Therefore, with the closure there is no need to overreact to the situation,” Ranatunga told the Daily FT.

He also asserted that the Tourism Ministry was working closely with the Health Ministry and would adhere to strict protocols and guidelines.

The Minister said he expects tourist arrivals in November to exceed 50,000 considering the trend continued from September onwards.

Pointing out that tourism was the worst-hit industry by the ongoing pandemic, the Minister said the Government was stepping up revival efforts with new promotions to attract international travellers, subject to health guidelines. 

“Tourism is one of the quickest ways to earn much-needed foreign exchange to stabilise the economy,” he said.

The Minister said they expect around 150,000 to 180,000 tourists by the end of the year but given the current context it was difficult to be certain.

“It is a challenging time for everyone, particularly for economies that are depending heavily on the tourism industry. All these countries were expecting a boost in tourist arrivals following the successful vaccination rollout. This is the nature of a pandemic, and we need to learn to live with it accordingly.”

Omicron was first identified on 25 November by scientists in South Africa who raised alarm over its unusually high number of mutations. Since then, at least a dozen other countries have confirmed cases of the new strain, with several more reporting suspected cases.

On Monday, nations around the world sought to keep the new Omicron variant at bay with travel bans and further restrictions, even as it remains unclear what it means for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Japan yesterday announced it would suspend entry of all foreign visitors, while new cases of the variant identified days ago by researchers in South Africa appeared as far apart as Hong Kong, Australia and Portugal. 

As more cases are identified and governments around the world mobilise to respond to Omicron, an urgent meeting of G7 health ministers was to be convened yesterday.