Sri Lanka tightened border control further in the wake of the prevalence of fast-spreading variants in several countries, including India, and made institutional quarantine mandatory for people coming from certain countries. 

The revised guidelines issued by the country’s health ministry said Sri Lankan nationals and dual citizens, having a travel history from India, Vietnam, South Africa, and South American countries within the past 14 days will have to undergo a 14-day institutional quarantine. 

The fresh guidelines will be also applicable to the people who are fully vaccinated. Earlier, they had the option of home quarantine. 

People, coming from the rest of the countries, are also asked to carry either a negative PCR test done within 96 hours prior to embarkation or a Rapid Antigen Test done within 48 hours prior to embarkation while dual citizens should carry a negative PCR test report done within 96 hours before boarding.  

The government also forbids these people from using public transport to go to their homes, and they are now required to arrange their own transport. 

In recent weeks, South African and Latin American countries are reporting multiple variants of the Covid-19 virus, forcing many countries to place tighter border norms. 

(SAM)