Some restrictions will have to be imposed on arrivals from overseas taking into account the uptick in positive cases of COVID-19 among individuals arriving in Sri Lanka, says the Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Sudath Samaraweera.

In a statement, he said Sri Lanka has registered 52,710 coronavirus infections so far in 2021 with 1,593 of them being people coming in from foreign countries.

Reportedly, a large number of positive cases among those who arrived from the Middle East and some from Europe have been identified.

Sri Lanka’s cumulative infections confirmed in April added up to a total of 52,710 and 538 of them – some 15.5 percent – were from overseas, the chief epidemiologist stated.

As per Epidemiology Unit’s statistics, Sri Lanka has confirmed 78 coronavirus infections among the arrivals from overseas on Friday (April 16).

Dr. Samaraweera went on to note that some countries have already moved to halt foreign travels as third and fourth coronavirus waves continue to heap positive cases.

In order to maintain the progress Sri Lanka had made recently in controlling the spread of the virus, some restrictions will have to be imposed on the arrivals from overseas, Dr. Samaraweera pointed out.