New COVID-19 variant has not entered SL

• All precautionary measures taken to prevent it from entering country
• Returnees also had to undergo a further 14-day quarantine in their homes

By JAMILA HUSAIN

The new COVID-19 variant which is rapidly spreading in the UK and being detected in some European countries has not entered Sri Lanka and strict measures are in place to quarantine locals expatriated from Britain, officials from the Health Ministry told the Daily Mirror yesterday.

A senior Health Ministry official said reports claiming that two returnees from the UK had tested positive for the virus and had carried the new variant was baseless and false and UK returnees, upon their arrival at the BIA were being directed to the mandatory 14-day quarantine in the designated hotels or government centres.

In addition, these returnees also had to undergo a further 14-day quarantine in their homes and would be strictly monitored by the area MOH officers and PHIs. "All measures have been taken to ensure that these returnees do not come into contact with the society till they are completely cleared. So all measures are in place to prevent the new variant from entering the country," the official said.