Following the Minuangoda factory outbreak that continues to increase the number of Covid-19 positive cases, over 15000 PCR tests have been carried within factories under the Board of Investment (BOI) in the last few days.

Within the investment zone, 10000 PCR tests were conducted, whereas outside the investment zone 5000 tests were carried out. The tests have been carried out under the direction of States Minister of Aviation and Investment Zone Development D. V. Chanka.

The tests that were done on workers covering all factories under the BOI umbrella were carried out in accordance with the Ministry of Health (MoH) guidelines.

“The Ministry is focused on ensuring the safety of the workforce as well as the continuation of the production process.

“BOI Sri Lanka was getting ready for a few months to face the situation in an event such as this second wave occurred,” the minister said via a statement to the media today.

He added that a number of health safety programs have been conducted in the Investments with assistance from the MoH, MRI, Public Health Officials (PHOs), and Public Health Inspectors (PHIs).

Furthermore, the factories have been instructed to update the details of all workers, and carry out operations in smaller groups while strictly adhering to the health guidelines and ensuring it is followed when exiting the zone as well.

Acknowledging that 70 percent of export revenue is contributed by factories under the BOI purview, the State Minister said all efforts would be taken to maintain the position of exports.

Over 500,000 workers are employed in factories registered with the BOI.