Curfew to be relaxed from tomorrow

By Sandun A. Jayasekera 

The government will relax countrywide curfew for 18 hours for the first time from tomorrow (26) bringing normalcy, almost fully to the country  after 67 days.   

With the curfew in force only for six hours daily from 10.00 pm to 4.00 am, the government expects the day-to-day life in the public and the private sector as usual and activities of industry, commerce, trade,  tourism, hospitality, entertainment and education etc. will return to  pre-COVID-19 situation gradually, Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Bandula  Gunawardana said yesterday.   

The Presidential Secretariat announced that curfew will be  effective only between 10.00 pm to 4.00 am daily from Tuesday in all  Districts from May 26 onward until further notice.   

People’s movements between districts, except Colombo and Gampaha, will be permitted from Tuesday, May 26 onward, it added.   

A countrywide curfew was in force on Sunday, May 24 and will continue today  May 25 as well.   
In a timeline of imposing of Curfew after the first Sri  Lankan (a tourist guide) and before him a Chinese woman tourist  detected in early February and mid-March respectively, the government  for the first time imposed Police curfew on March 18, in the Puttalam District and Kochchikade Police Division in Negombo.   

Police curfew was lifted on the following day in Puttalam,  Chilaw, Negombo - Kochchikade and imposed within the Ja-Ela and Wattala  Police Divisions.   

Countrywide curfew was imposed on March 20 to 23. The Curfew was temporarily lifted on March 24 for a period of eight hours except in eight districts.   
24 March 2020: Curfew imposed in eight districts temporarily lifted on March 24 for a period of eight hours in Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara Districts identified as high-risk areas for Covid-19.   
30 March 2020: Curfew temporarily lifted in all but six districts on March 30 and on April  6 curfew was temporarily lifted for eight hours in all but six districts.

   
The Curfew was temporarily lifted in 19 Districts on April  16 and relaxed on April 19 in several districts and police divisions. The  Government decided to relax the curfew on April 20which was set to be lifted on April 22 in four districts and was extended until April 27. 

 The Curfew was in force in 23 districts except Colombo and  Gampaha only for nine hours from 8.00 pm to 5.00 am on working days sinceApril 27and imposed island-wide on holidays and on weekends round the clock.   

• The government expects the day-to-day life in the public and the private sector as usual