brand logo

Lockdown during festive period: No decision, testing to continue

21 Dec 2020

The Government has not yet taken a decision as to whether it should go for a lockdown to restrict movements during the upcoming Christmas holidays as a precaution to prevent the spread of Covid-19, according to National Operation Centre for Prevention of Covid-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) Head Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva. “As of now, there’s no such plan to go for a lockdown,” he told The Morning. Lt. Gen. Silva stressed that necessary advice has already been communicated to the public as well as hotel owners. However, the Government couldn’t force anyone to undergo a test or declare that a testing is a must, he said. As learnt by The Morning, a number of hotels in and outside Colombo have already been reserved while some hotels are fully booked, especially for 24, 25, and 26 December.   When asked how it could affect the measures taken by the Government to control the spread of the virus, the Army Commander said: “As of now, we’re not planning to put travel restrictions or to restrict movements. What we are doing is conducting a random rapid antigen test which is very effective at the moment. We have advised that it’s better to go for testing to make sure that they are not positive for the virus and if not there is a risk.” Commenting on the random testing, he said that they will be continuing testing till the end of the year. As of now, tests are being conducted at four locations, which are the main roads leaving from Colombo. “Currently, tests are being conducted at four locations and it will be increased if an increase of vehicular movements are being noticed in some other roads other than the main roads,” he added.


More News..