Sri Lanka has not yet received clearance to evacuate Sri Lankan students in Wuhan city, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
 
Wuhan city is currently in lock-down as a result of the coronavirus and Sri Lanka has sought approval to evacuate 33 students and their families from the city.
 
The Prime Minister’s Office said that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has requested that the students be evacuated but the request is still pending approval from Chinese authorities, Colombo Gazette reported.
 
The Sri Lanka Embassy in Beijing has submitted an application to land a Sri Lankan Airlines aircraft in Wuhan city airport to airlift 32 Sri Lankan students including their family members.
 
Sri Lankans in China wishing to return to Sri Lanka have been offered air tickets at 50 percent discount by SriLankan Airlines.
 
Sri Lankan students returning from Wuhan are to be transferred to the Diyatalawa Army camp to be tested for the coronavirus.
 
Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, addressing reporters at a special media conference yesterday (Tuesday), had said that all Sri Lankans returning from China will be tested for the virus.
 
However she said that the students returning from Wuhan will be transferred to a special quarantine centre at the Diyatalawa Army camp for two weeks as a precaution.
 
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Office said that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had appreciated the support extended by China to Sri Lankans, particularly the large number of Sri Lankan students studying in China.