Countrywide curfew imposed till tomorrow 5.00 am

CURFEW TO FACILITATE SECURITY PERSONNEL RETURNING TO CAMPS

• NEW SCHEME TO REGULATE MASS MOVEMENTS WITH NIC NUMBERS 

By Sandun A Jayasekera  

An island-wide curfew was imposed today in order to  facilitate officers of the security forces who are on leave to report  back to their respective camps, the President’s Media Division said.    

It said the curfew in other districts except for the  districts of Colombo, Kalutara, Gampaha and Puttalam will be lifted at  5.00am on Tuesday (28) and will be re-imposed at 8.00pm on the same day.

State organisations including Departments, Corporations and Boards as well as factories, construction enterprises, offices, vegetable and fish stalls and retail outlets belonging to the private sector are permitted to function after the curfew was relaxed on next Tuesday morning at 5.00 a.m, the government has announced.   

A communique issued by the Presidential Media Division (PMD) has introduced a numerical system using the last two digits of the National Identity Card (NIC) of the public to attend to their day to day essential activities such as buying medicines, essential food commodities, take a patient to hospital etc during the 5 working days.   
Accordingly, only those with no. 1 or 2 as the last digits of their NICs are permitted to leave their homes on Monday, the public with no. 3 or 4 as the last digits of their NICs can leave home on Tuesday, those with 5 or 6 as the last digit of their NICs on Wednesday, people with 7 or 8 as the last digits in the NIC on Thursday and others with 9 or 0 as the last digits of the NIC on Friday.   

The ongoing curfew in the districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Puttalam will remain in force till 5.00 a.m. on Monday, May 04th.   
In all other 21 districts, curfew will be lifted for 15 hours from 5.00 a.m. tomorrow and will be re-imposed at 8.00 p.m. tomorrow night.   

In order to resume work at both public and private sector entities in the districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Puttalam from 4th May, even when curfew is in force, relevant regulations will be relaxed, the PMD said.   
The private sector entities should start work at 10.00 a.m. starting from Tuesday. During the next week, heads of the both state and private sector organisations should plan out their operations to be carried out from May 4th onwards.   

Only 1/3rd of the total workforce of each state organisation such as Departments, Corporations and Boards are required to report for work. The head of each organisation should ensure that only the minimum required number of employees are called for work to carry out the operations.   
All the employees of the state sector entities who are not required to report for work in office should work from their homes. The responsibility to decide who should come to office and who should work from home lies with head of the each organisation. The Head has the freedom to select a different set of employees each day.  As a measure to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus the public should stop unnecessarily coming to roads and gathering at various locations.   

Buses belonging to Sri Lanka Transport Board and trains can only transport employees who are reporting for work. Civilians except those who are on essential duties should remain in their homes. COVID – 19 prevention health recommendations should be strictly adhered during office hours, public transport and inside shops. They include disinfection, wearing masks, washing hand from time to time and maintaining social distance. The Police and the security forces will vigilantly observe whether these guidelines are followed.   

Travelling between inter-districts is strictly limited only to official and other essential purposes. Schools, Universities, Tuition classes and other Educational Institutes and Cinemas will remain closed until further notice.   
If any area where the curfew has been relaxed happens to be identified as a risk village or a zone, curfew may be re-imposed limiting only to such area. No one will be permitted to enter or leave areas designated as isolated.   
All forms of functions, pilgrimages and pleasure tours, carnivals, processions and meetings are banned until further notice. Since the congregation of people is a hindrance to the preventive measures to control the spread of the virus, the Government also requests to suspend all religious festivals. 

 
Measures introduced by the Government during the initial stages of the spread of the virus to continuously supply essential goods and services in order to ensure an uninterrupted day-to-day life will be further strengthened.   
The pandemic should be controlled fully to protect the civilians against the virus. At the same time it is imperative to revive the economy which has been disrupted.   

The cooperation that people can extend is to understand the severity of the disease while always remaining at homes and 100% adherence to the health guidelines.

   
The Government insists that the public should endure all these hardships for the well-being and protection of oneself, our children and the entire nation. Anyone who acts in a manner that harms the welfare of the society will strictly be dealt with according to the existing laws.   

• PMD has introduced a numerical system using the last two digits of the National Identity Card (NIC) of the public to attend to their day to day essential activities such as buying medicines