The health guidelines to be adhered by people during the upcoming Sinhala-Tamil New Year season would be issued in the near future, Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena said today.

He told media that the Health Ministry is currently engaged in finalising the relevant guidelines and hoping to publish them soon.

“People are preparing to celebrate the Sinhala-Tamil New Year. However, they should be mindful of the fact that Sri Lanka is not out of the woods as yet in terms of COVID-19 pandemic situation,” he underlined.

“Therefore, he requested the people to restrict their movement and limit celebrations and adhere to basic health guidelines so that there won’t be any risk of emerging a new COVID-19 cluster in the future,” he pointed out.

“We couldn’t celebrate the New Year in 2020 also due to the similar situation. This time too, we still confront the risk, despite the infections have declined sharply,” the DG added.

However, he urged everyone to be cautious and prepare to follow the guidelines, which are to be issued soon. (Sheain Fernandopulle)