All school educational tours suspended owing to Coronavirus

All school educational tours will be temporarily suspended owing to the threat from the Coronavirus, the Education Ministry stated. 

Issuing a statement, Education Ministry Secretary N.H.M. Chithrananda stated that the decision to suspend all school educational tours was taken after it emerged that the first local patient diagnosed with Covid-19 had traveled to various parts of the country. According, the Education Ministry has informed all provincial and zonal education directors as well as principals to suspend educational tours immediately. 

Mr Chithrananda further stated the Ministry has not yet taken a decision to close down schools owing to the virus. "However, if the Health Ministry advises us to close down schools, we will do so. For the moment, we urge students and parents not to panic," he added. 

Meanwhile, the Education Ministry will undertake a series of awareness programmes from next week in schools regarding the virus.