Colombo, Sep 3 (UNI/XINHUA) Sri Lankan authorities said on Friday that a nationwide quarantine curfew which came into effect on Aug. 20 will be further extended till Sept. 13 due to a rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The curfew was originally scheduled to be lifted on Sept. 6 at 4:00 a.m. local time, but following a meeting between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the COVID-19 Task Force on Friday morning, it was announced that the quarantine curfew would be extended.
Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said progress will be made via the ongoing vaccination drive in the interim to curb the COVID-19 infection spike.
“Please adhere to the regulations, use this time to get vaccinated, stay home and wear a mask,” the minister said on Twitter.
Sri Lanka is facing a rapid rise in COVID-19 infections with 447,757 cases detected since March last year.
The current active patient count was nearly 60,000, statistics from the Health Ministry showed, and 9,604 deaths have been reported so far.
Health workers said the rise in infections in recent weeks was driven by the Delta variant with capital Colombo being the epicenter of the variant outbreak.
Hospitals have been filled with patients while crematoriums are also working round the clock to cremate the dead.
Health workers have warned that the situation may reach its peak in the coming weeks and have urged people to stay indoors as much as possible.
