Islandwide travel restrictions: To be lifted tomorrow
Inter-provincial restrictions to remain
Government employers told to facilitate online work
All gatherings banned
Lifting lockdown likely to worsen situ: SLMA to President
By Yoshitha Perera
Though the islandwide travel restrictions will be lifted tomorrow (21), inter-provincial travel restrictions will continue to remain with only those involved in the provision of essential services being allowed to cross provincial boundaries for valid reasons, National Operations Centre for the Prevention of the Covid-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) Head General Shavendra Silva said.
It was announced on Friday (18) that the travel restrictions that were in place for approximately a month would be lifted at 4 a.m. tomorrow and reimposed on Wednesday (23) at 10 p.m. and lifted again at 4 a.m. on Friday (25). Poson Poya Day falls on Thursday (24).
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, General Silva further noted that even after Friday, inter-provincial travel restrictions would continue to remain, until further notice.
He said that while government employees would not have to report to work, government employers are being informed to provide necessary facilities for their employees to work online.
Explaining further, he added: “Shops can be opened by strictly adhering to the health guidelines. Even after 25 June, parties, events, meetings, public gatherings, and weddings are strictly prohibited, until further notice.”
Meanwhile, last night (19), the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA), in a letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, urged for the uninterrupted continuation of current lockdown measures and stated that the basis for lifting the lockdown was unclear to them.
