Yala opens today for French naval crew members under Bio Safety Bubble: Wild Life

The Yala National Park will open today for the French naval crew members who arrived in the country yesterday (7), the Wild Life sources confirmed.

They said the naval crew members to visit the national park under a 'Bio Safety Bubble'.

According to reports, 90 naval members will be assigned as a group to 18 safari jeeps today, while another 156 will be assigned to Udawalawa National Park.

Another group of 90 naval members will be assigned for the tour in the Udawalawa National Park tomorrow (9) with 18 safari jeeps. Meanwhile, 80 naval members have been scheduled to tour the Habarana Eco Park or Minneriya National Park as an alternative.

The delegation, which consists of 750 French crew members arrived in two vessels yesterday (7) and will  remain in the island until June 11.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) said the Sri Lanka Foreign Affairs Ministry and the French Embassy in Sri Lanka have agreed on a diplomatic level to facilitate crew members of two French vessels visiting Sri Lanka. 

They said the Foreign Affairs Ministry wrote to the Secretaries of Health and Tourism on May 24 informing them about the delegation of French crew members arriving in two vessels from June 7-11 to visit Sri Lanka under a 'Bio Safety Bubble'.

Furthermore, the Commissioner General of the Excise Department directed all Assistant Commissioners to grant permission to operate the liquor licenses of the hotels where the French crew members were lodging in with controlled access for locals during the travel restriction period. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)