“Expatriates Need to Bring Proper PCR Test Reports in Future When Landing”-Head NOCPCO

General Shavendra Silva, Head of the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO), Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army, together with the Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Dr Asela Gunawardene during one more meeting at the NOCPCO Wednesday (30) afternoon reviewed and summed up the present status of the COVID-19 control work.

Imposition of continued travel restrictions between provinces, isolation of areas, requests for removal of restrictions by different parties, ongoing vaccination projects, arrival of expatriates and quarantine procedures, conduct of PCR tests and antigen tests, smooth function of government QCs, etc were issues that were taken up for review and deliberations among members of the Task Force at NOCPCO.

“Only the arrivals after proper PCR tests in Sri Lanka could be accommodated after landing but it was found some airlines bound for Sri Lanka have accepted those who did antigen tests too. Hereafter they have to come with after proper PCRs, done at recognized places. As government-managed QCs are now almost full and the island-wide vaccination projects are going ahead smoothly,” General Shavendra Silva said.

Officials of the Ministry of Health meanwhile submitted a presentation on the existing strategy of Sri Lanka in June 2021 and from there onwards under the theme, “Together let us protect lives and livelihood”

The DGHS submitted latest data, figures and information as regards the most recently detected new variants, clusters from Rathnapura and Nuwara Eliya areas and claimed that only less than 2000 patients were reported in the past 6 days. He also elaborated on the influx of patients in hospitals, ICCs, deaths etc. “With detection of the Delta variant we have to be very cautious and people need to be vigilant all the time”, he pointed out.

Source: www.army.lk