Advertisement

Updated March 20th, 2020 at 13:19 IST

Coronavirus Outbreak: Sri Lanka imposes nationwide curfew to combat pandemic

Sri Lankan has imposed a nationwide curfew from Friday until Monday to combat the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic that has claimed over 9,000 lives globally

Reported by: Digital Desk
Sri Lanka
| Image:self
Advertisement

Sri Lankan has imposed a nationwide curfew from Friday until Monday to combat the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic that has claimed over 9,000 lives globally, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office has announced. The curfew announcement comes a day after the country's Election Commission announced the postponement of the parliamentary election which was scheduled for April 25. The Commission said a decision on the new date would be taken after March 25.

The country is to be placed under a curfew with effect from 6 pm (local time) tonight until 6 am (local time) on Monday, President Rajapaksa's office said. Although there were no reasons given for the announcement, it is believed that the government is keen to see restricted movement of the people in order to promote social distancing in the face of a looming threat posed by the COVID-19 outbreak.

READ| Allow employees to work from home: Delhi govt to private sector employers

The national center tasked to prevent COVID-19 infections said out of the 66 confirmed cases so far, 25 were returnees from overseas. It said 22 of them were from Italy while 2 from the UK and one from India. Over 2,400 people are going through quarantine which includes 27 foreign nationals, it added.

Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa has refused to lock down the entire country, citing economic hardships for the poor. Sri Lankan police had previously restricted the curfew to night time in the western coastal areas, a move aimed at tracking down Italy returnees who were avoiding the compulsory quarantine process. The police said despite the curfew people were engaging in social activities, defying the need to maintain social distancing.

Coronavirus Outbreak 

Countries around the world are sealing their borders and banning travel to stop the fast-spreading COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed 9,800 lives and infected more than 232,650 people in 158 countries and territories. In view of the rising number of the novel coronavirus cases globally, Sri Lanka on Tuesday suspended all international flights arriving in the country.

China with 80,967 infected cases and 3,248 deaths tops the list followed by Italy (41,035 cases and 3,405 deaths), Iran (18,304 infected cases and 1,284 deaths), Spain (19,077 infected cases and 831 deaths), Germany (15,320 infected cases and 44 deaths) and France (10,995 infected cases and 372 deaths). 

The coronavirus (CoV) is a novel strain in the large family of viruses that causes illnesses ranging from the common cold to acute respiratory syndromes. Common symptoms of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) strain include respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties, as per WHO. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people, according to the WHO. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.

(With PTI inputs) 

READ| Coronavirus Outbreak: Cases climb to 195 in India

Advertisement

Published March 20th, 2020 at 13:18 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

RR vs DC
a few seconds ago
ED Attack case: Shahjahan Sheikh Sent to Judicial Remand Till April 9
a minute ago
Eknath Shinde
6 minutes ago
Inflation and growth
6 minutes ago
CUET
8 minutes ago
UP: Man Burned Alive By In-Laws in Mathura, Probe On
10 minutes ago
Diljit Dosanjh
14 minutes ago
mallikarjun kharge, lalu yadav
19 minutes ago
UN
21 minutes ago
Ravichandran Ashwin
27 minutes ago
Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar
30 minutes ago
National Mall, Washington DC
33 minutes ago
Wall Street news
34 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo