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550 suspected of slipping away ahead of curfew
About 550 people who left the Western Province on October 29 and 30 have been identified and placed in 14-day self-quarantine at their current place of accommodation, the police said.
Among them are residents who had come from the Western Province, but travelled after the curfew was declared.
Hatton-Dickoya Urban Council Public Health Inspector R.R.S. Madawela said three people who had worked in the Western Province and returned to their homes were asked to self-quarantine along with their families.
They had arrived in Hatton, Dickoya, Norwood areas and had not informed the Hatton Police or the health services of the local council, he claimed.
Mr Madawela said that though they claimed they had arrived before October 29, it was not so.
Meanwhile, in a bid to curb the spread of the COVID-19 second wave, the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council is implementing preventive measures along with awareness campaigns.
The Council’s Public Health Inspector B.M.S.B. Delpitiya said among those under home quarantine were 48 residents who had arrived from abroad, and about 15 people who had come to the area from their work places in the Western Province after the Government announced the travel restrictions.
“All these people will have to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine process,” he said.
Tangalle Medical Officer of Health G.A.I.T. Priyadarshana said two people had been found and one is a resident of the area. He had been told to stay at home as the other had come to the hospital for an official purpose.
A Batticaloa police chief inspector said, “As a passenger tested positive for coronavirus in a bus, which was travelling from Colombo, the people were instructed to self-quarantine.’’
Welipitiya Health officials claimed that “it is practically impossible to identify and quarantine those who have come from Colombo unless they are infected with the disease”.
According to the police some of those who left the Western Province were in Bandarawela, Batticaloa, Ampara, Jaffna, Tangalle, Hatton and Nuwara Eliya police areas.
However, some of those asked to quarantine said they had left well before the curfew was declared and had not anticipated such restrictions.
If the police did not want the people to travel, they could have placed check points at the exit points and stopped the people, without allowing them to leave and try to take action later, they said.
| Brief relief for holidaying locals caught in curfew trap By Shelton Hettiaarachchi A few hundred people now in quarantine for suspected violations of the Western Province curfew ahead of the long weekend and made reservations in holiday spots, have been offered alternatives, hoteliers say. About 550 people who are suspected to have left the Western Province before the curfew are in quarantine. Some Nuwara Eliya hotels, where some bookings had been cancelled, said they offered alternative bookings. Rifan Razeen, general manager of the Grand in Nuwara Eliya, said 76 rooms had been booked. Of these, 52 were reserved by residents around Colombo and 14 were booked by people from Kalutara. “The second wave, spreading rapidly since early October, prompted the government to declare a curfew in the Western Province. As a result, it was agreed that they would be accommodated when the country calmed down again,’’ he said. He said that out of the 154 rooms, only one foreigner is staying under the observation of health officials. Mr. Lewke Bandara, general manager of Andrews Hotel, said: “Our hotel filled up with locals before the second wave of the coronavirus erupted. This came at a time when the tourism industry, which had collapsed due to the pandemic, was recovering.’’ He said most reservations came from Western Province residents. “We had to explain the situation to the guests. We offered an alternative date for their bookings and they agreed,’’ he said. However, as a precaution, several major hotels around Nuwara Eliya, and resorts and lodges have also been closed. | |