Report on Social Media Govt. denies ‘Restricted Areas’ map

• social media showed several areas marked as restricted
• DG Government Information Nalaka Kaluwewa said the report was false
• Has made public assume it is Govt. information

By JAMILA HUSAIN  

The government information department yesterday denied a report widely circulating on social media saying several areas across the country had been marked as ‘Restricted Areas’ following the detection of new COVID-19 patients.  

The report showed a map of Sri Lanka with several areas marked including in Colombo, Gampaha, Anuradhapura, Galle, Polonnaruwa, Monaragala, Ampara, Ratnapura, Kurunegala, Jaffna, Kalutara, Kegalle, Kandy, Monaragala, Matara, Mathale and Hambantota as restricted areas.   

The report was shared multiple times, with the public assuming it was an official document shared by the government.   

However Director General of the Government Information, Nalaka Kaluwewa told Daily Mirror that the report was false as only certain areas in Rajanganaya had been termed as isolated following the increasing number of patients detected, linked to the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Centre.”There are no isolated patients found. All the new patients that are being detected are either from the Kandakadu cluster or linked to this cluster. So terming so many areas as restricted areas is completely false. No other area other than Rajanganaya is facing a lockdown,” Kaluwewa said.