Curfews in Colombo to be reviewed every three days

The curfews imposed in several areas in Colombo including Pettah, Fort and Borella will be reviewed every three days and will be lifted only once the threat in these areas subside, government sources told Daily Mirror today.

Curfews had been put in Colombo areas as there had been pockets of patients detected in these areas in recent days, mostly linked to the Peliyagoda fish market cluster which was now spreading at a rapid rate. Sources said that Borella had identified several patients while Pettah ad Fort had also detected patients and since it was the main trading hub, curfew had also been imposed as a precautionary measure.

"Pettah and Fort have some high risk areas which have been identified. And thousands of people enter and exit these areas in order to trade every day. So curfew has been imposed to prevent a further spread of the COVID-19," sources said.

Authorities will review the situation in these areas every three days and will lift the curfew once the threat is completely eliminated. PCR tests will also be conducted on identified and vulnerable communities in the curfew areas, especially in the congested areas in order to detect more possible patients and to assess the extent in which the infection has spread.

No decision has also been taken yet to impose curfew in other areas in Colombo but contact tracing was ongoing and if pockets of patients are identified from those areas as well, then curfew will be imposed immediately to prevent a further spread. (JAMILA HUSAIN)