Sri Lanka Plans Gradual Easing of Virus Curfew to Revive Economy

(Bloomberg) --

Sri Lanka plans to start relaxing a nationwide curfew that has been in place since last month to prevent the spread of Covid-19, as it looks to revive an economy thwarted by the pandemic.

The movement curbs will on Monday be lifted from 5:00 am to 8:00 pm in some districts deemed less at risk, and parts of the capital Colombo will reopen during those hours from April 22, the president’s media office said in a statement late Saturday.

Only a third of the workforce in state institutions located within Colombo district should go to their offices at one time while others should continue to work from home, the statement said. Transport services will run at full schedule but buses, vans and rail carriages should carry only half the passengers of their full capacity.

Religious festivals, pilgrimages, non-essential travel, processions and meetings remain prohibited until further notice, according to the president’s statement.

Sri Lanka, which has reported 254 cases of Covid-19 with 7 deaths, has been aggressively contact tracing and isolating high-risk areas to help prevent the spread of the disease. The island’s international airport remains closed to incoming passenger flights while schools, universities and cinemas have been kept shut amid the lock down, bringing civilian life and the economy to a halt. The curbs have been in place since mid-March.

“The progress made with the strict measures so far adopted was instrumental in easing the curfew,” the statement said. “Reviving the economy and providing relief to low-income and the most vulnerable segment of the society who are hard hit by the crisis is another purpose.”

Still, “the risk has not yet subsided completely,” the president’s office said, while urging people to remain in their homes unless traveling for work and not to gather in large numbers at market places for panic buying once the curfew is lifted.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.