Sri Lanka will end its COVID-19 lockdown enforced on October 1 last month, Health Minister Keheliya Rambuquela said on Wednesday, even as medical professionals warned against unrestricted reopening of the country. The lockdown, imposed on August 20 following a spike in COVID-19 cases, will be lifted on October 1 at 4 am (local time) and the new guidelines are aimed at preventing further spread. coronavirus Announcement will be made, he said.
“These conditions, to be announced by the health authorities, will be imposed to minimize the movement of people and contain the spread of the virus,” Rambuquela said. The announcement came after the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) warned that unrestricted medical-transmission would resume once the country opened up.
“As the current number of cases is high, this is likely to result in a faster rise in cases than ever before, despite higher vaccine coverage,” the SLMA said in a statement. After weeks of persuasion by medical professionals, the government decided to lift the lockdown in mid-August after health facilities came under pressure due to the raging third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 death toll, which stood at less than 1,000 by the end of April, rose to nearly 13,000 by Tuesday. Health officials have said that the daily number of COVID-19 cases has come down which had crossed the 2,000-mark.
There were more than 900 new infections on Tuesday, with 55 deaths confirmed on Monday, a decline from the more than 2,000 daily cases recorded mostly in August.
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