Repatriation of Lankans temporarily suspended: Colombage

• The government is critical about the infection of a number of Sri Lankans who arrived from Kuwait in two flights last week

By Sandun A. Jayasekera

With some 90 returnees from Kuwait testing positive for COVID-19, the government has decided to suspend the repatriation of Sri Lankans for a few weeks, said Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage, former Navy Commander and the President’s senior advisor on foreign relations.  

“The government is critical about the infection of a number of Sri Lankans who arrived from Kuwait in two flights last week. A crucial meeting on the issue is likely to be held at 11:00 a.m. today at the Presidential Secretariat chaired by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The detection of COVID-19 patients among those who were repatriated from Kuwait hampered the successful measures we carried out to contain the virus. Hence, we have no option but to suspend the repatriation process at least for a few weeks. The government had already suspended a SriLankan flight scheduled to leave for Doha which is identified as a high-risk zone. Two more flights of the national carrier scheduled to leave for Belarus and Melbourne will also be suspended,” he said.  

Two more flights of the national carrier scheduled to leave for Belarus and Melbourne will also be suspended