19 October 2020 12:53 am
Following the Minuwangoda factory outbreak that has become the biggest COVID-19 cluster in the country, over 15, 000 PCR tests have been carried within factories under the Board of Investment (BOI) in the last few days.
Within the investment zones, 10000 PCR tests had been conducted, whereas outside the investment zones, 5, 000 tests been conducted.
The tests have been carried out under the direction of the States Minister of Aviation and Investment Zone Development, D. V. Chanaka.
The tests on workers covering all factories under the BOI umbrella were carried out in accordance with the Ministry of Health (MoH) guidelines.
“The Ministry is focused on ensuring the safety of the workforce as well as the continuation of the production process.
“BOI Sri Lanka was getting ready for a few months to face an event such as this,” the Minister said in a statement.
He added that a number of health safety programmes have been conducted with assistance from the MoH, MRI, Public Health Officials (PHOs) and Public Health Inspectors (PHIs).
Furthermore, the factories have been instructed to update the details of all workers, and carry out operations in smaller groups while strictly adhering to the health guidelines and ensuring theyare followed when exiting the zone as well.
Acknowledging that factories under the BOI purview account for about 70 percent of the export revenue, the State Minister said all efforts would be taken to maintain the position of exports.
Over 500,000 workers are employed in factories registered with the BOI.