- Contingency plans in place says Army Chief
- Health authorities prepared to mitigate virus outbreak
By Sarah Hannan
The Government's decision to conduct a pilot project to bring down tourists to the country amid a pandemic has been received with mixed reactions from the public and several organisations alike; while all are in agreement that the tourism sector needs to be revived after a 10-month closure, questions are raised about the methods followed to revive it.
Since March 2020, the international airports in Sri Lanka have been closed for international tourists due to the Covid-19 global pandemic. Since October, Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Pvt.) Ltd. (AASL) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAA) were preparing to receive passengers that were to arrive for leisure purposes. However, with the second wave being activated during that time, the reopening of airports for foreign travellers was postponed.
After much deliberations and additional guidelines suggested to be implemented, the pilot project of reopening the country’s airports and restarting the tourism sector commenced last week, with two batches of tourists arriving on 28 and 29 of December 2020 at the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA), bringing in a total of 345 leisure travellers to the country.
Ensuring protocols are followed
To dispel the scepticism that the pilot project is getting engulfed in and to clarify the contingency plans that are in place, The Sunday Morning contacted the National Operations Centre for Prevention of Covid-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) Head and Sri Lanka Army Commander Gen. Shavendra Silva. Responding to the queries raised, Gen. Silva explained: “This was not a surprise, that some of the travellers who arrived tested positive for the virus. We anticipated this situation, which is why even though they had undergone PCR tests and produced negative (test results) for Covid-19 at the time of boarding the plane in Kiev, upon their arrival in Mattala, they were subjected to health screenings, and samples were taken for PCR testing.”
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Prashasthi recital and dance item welcoming the tour group that arrived in Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, 28 December 2020,
Photo Courtesy AASL Media Unit [/caption]
Since the six travellers tested positive for Covid-19 from the two groups that arrived earlier last week, the NOCPCO activated their contingency plans to ensure that they are sent for treatment and their close contacts are now placed under isolation and observation at a designated section for quarantine.
“The motive to bring these tour groups under the travel bubble concept was to assist, support, and motivate the locals that were dependent on the tourism sector who have been out of work for a near nine-month period. Since December is the beginning of the tourism season in Sri Lanka, and it is the time where harsh winters are experienced in many of the North Asian countries including Ukraine and Russia, we agreed to allow these tour groups to travel to Sri Lanka,” Gen. Silva elaborated.
Gen. Silva stressed that the public must understand that this is a pilot project and that the hotels that have agreed to accommodate these tour groups have agreed to follow all the health guidelines and safety protocols that are in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“Moreover, we wish to reiterate that while restarting tourism is our main goal, we are also committed to ensuring the health and safety of the people of this country and the tourists that are visiting under this pilot project. Measures are in place to ensure that should several travellers test positive for Covid-19, it does not get transferred to the rest of society,” Gen. Silva opined.
If this pilot project proves to be a success, then the country will be able to open up for tourism on a larger scale with the necessary precautions in place, Gen. Silva added, noting that initiatives will be taken from time to time to strengthen the protocols and gradually open up the country for tourism, which has been a key source of income for a near two million people of Sri Lanka.
Gen. Silva also stated that the staff that would be handling these tour groups post-tour will be subjected to a mandatory 14-day quarantine period before they were allowed to leave the business premises and prior to welcoming another tour group, to ensure that the staff will not be carriers of the virus to society or to the guests who will be booking the hotels for their next stay. In the meantime, if any of them come into contact with a guest that tested positive for Covid-19, the staff will be sent to quarantine and if they test positive, they will be treated at a designated Covid-19 treatment centre.
Lapse in protocol
Despite the passengers undergoing PCR tests 72 hours prior to their departure from the Kiev Airport in Ukraine, the PCR tests that were carried out on arrival in Sri Lanka resulted in six of them testing positive.
When the first group of Ukrainian tourists arrived at MRIA on Monday (28 December 2020), they were given a warm welcome by the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), and AASL, with an entertainment segment that included a Prashasthi recital and dance items that highlighted the 150-year history of tea.
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Arriving Ukrainian nationals given surgical face masks and taken through a sanitization and health screening process at MIRA, 28 December 2020,
Photo courtesy AASL Media Unit [/caption]
Observing the video footage and the media publicity photos that were shared, it was clear that some of the basic Covid-19 preventive guidelines were not followed by the tourists and the troupe that did the dance item.
These incidents have now raised questions as to whether reopening the country for tourism even under the travel bubble concept was the best decision that the Government made.
When inquired, Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga clarified that all health protocols were followed and that the staff of MRIA, the ministry officials that attended the event, and the dance troupe had maintained physical distance with the tourists and were instructed to follow the Covid-19 preventive health measures at all times.
“We are following all the health guidelines that the health authorities have instructed us, and we have also briefed the airport staff and the officials at the hotels and selected tourism attraction sites that the group is allowed to visit during their stay. Since it is a pilot project there will be shortcomings, but we are ready to address these issues and move forward,” Minister Ranatunga told The Sunday Morning.
Health authorities on the ready
When asked whether adequate measures were in place in controlling another cluster of Covid-19 being generated through the tourist groups, Deputy Director General of Public Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath told The Sunday Morning that the health authorities, airport management services, and the tourist board were prepared to manage any of the passengers that would test positive for Covid-19 during their two-week stay.
“We were prepared for this situation as any group that is travelling to Sri Lanka will have a smaller percentage of travellers who will test positive for the virus. Even when our own migrant workers arrived in the country under the repatriation programme, health screenings were done and a smaller percentage tested positive for the virus,” Dr. Herath elaborated.
Dr. Herath noted that understanding these situations, the Ministry of Health and the Director General of Health Services had issued very specific guidelines that needed to be followed when tourism commenced.
Moreover, the health service authority and the tourist board along with other stakeholders have already taken necessary measures to ensure that the virus will not get introduced to the society through any of these travellers.
“This is a pilot project and we only allow tourists in batches who will travel to Sri Lanka under the travel bubble concept. All these foreigners who arrive have to undergo rapid antigen testing and then provide samples for PCR testing as well, which is how the six Ukranian travellers were detected. They have been referred to a treatment centre and their close contacts have been placed under quarantine,” Dr. Herath added.
While the travellers had submitted negative results on the Covid-19 PCR tests when boarding the flight, Dr. Herath stated that it should not be considered as a good enough health check which would rule out that person from carrying the virus.
All arrivals are therefore required to undergo regular health screenings and within their 14-day stay, should undergo three PCR tests, and a rapid antigen test at the time of arrival at the respective airport.
“As health authorities, we can affirm that whenever an imported case of Covid-19 gets detected, it is at the moment, well managed. We have so far followed strict health guidelines when repatriating Sri Lankans and those who have arrived in Sri Lanka from other countries to report to their work. All these groups are subjected to a mandatory 14-day quarantine and a further 14-day home quarantine with regular health screenings too prescribed,” Dr. Herath confirmed.
