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Govt. to resume flights to bring back stranded Lankans
View(s):The Government has finally scheduled a slew of flights to bring back Sri Lankan migrants stranded abroad, after initially cancelling some flights and resisting repatriation as a large number of West Asian workers are now feared to be infected with COVID-19.
Flights were scheduled to arrive from the Maldives, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Lebanon, Madagascar, Pakistan, Seychelles, South Korea and Qatar starting on Saturday. However, it will require many more trips before everyone who has registered to return is brought back.
“Of course, these flights won’t bring back all the migrant workers so there will need to be repeat flights to the same countries,” an official source said. Additionally, there will be flights from the United States and from India on June 22 and 23 to bring back more students and short-term visitors.
The UAE and Lebanon have agreed to carry out free PCR tests on Sri Lankans prior to their departure. Other governments want payment or will not do the test unless there are symptoms.
The Sri Lanka Army has said it can provide quarantine facilities for the returnees. As at Wednesday, there were 44 centres with more than 5,000 people. Some are likely to avail themselves of paid quarantine in hotels. For the others, the Government is paying Rs 30,000 a person to the Army for food and other facilities at each centre.
There are fears that a large number of workers are already positive for the virus. Of the 467 returnees from Kuwait, some 412 are infected and receiving treatment in hospitals.
The Government, after having prioritised other returnees such as students, delayed repatriating workers over fears that infection numbers in Sri Lanka will rise with their arrival. However, the Presidential Secretariat has now granted approval. Instructions were issued to SriLankan Airlines to schedule the necessary flights.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Navy has stepped up border patrols along the international maritime border to prevent possible infiltration by smugglers transporting South Indians wishing to escape the rapid spread of COVID-19 in their communities.
“We are continuing what we have been doing for the last couple of months,” said Lt Cmdr Isuru Sooriyabandara, Navy Spokesman.