New ’Covid 19’ protocol, procedures issued for all inbound tourists

Nihal S Friday, 13 January 2023 11:42 PM

When we arrived in Colombo last month - they did not ask for the vaccination card and we were surprised. I am in Africa and these countries always ask for the vaccination certificates or PCR report. Sri Lanka changes rules every month - why do not keep the requirements in place all the time to protect the country and also not to confuse to the arrivals?

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Lank Saturday, 14 January 2023 01:58 AM

This is not a good idea at all ...Many countries take some precautions and yet they do not prevent Tourists arrivals....what you do now is asking them not to come to Sri Lanka ... don't give unnecessary trouble at all ...make it simple and flexible... otherwise people wouldn't come

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DW Saturday, 14 January 2023 07:49 AM

What a joke. Other countries have learned to live with the virus. No other international airport has these stupid rules. This will definitely turn tourists off. There will always be new variants of Covid. We can't continue to have these rules on and off forever.

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PG Saturday, 14 January 2023 08:01 AM

According to world's leading experts the new variant does not appear to cause more severe disease. Like other Omicron descendants, it probably causes milder illness compared with the Delta variants that predated Omicron. Further more, data suggests that if you’ve been vaccinated, you’re still going to have a good amount of protection. The reality is that Sri Lanka has the best experts in the world and they are the ones who invented all the vaccines so let's listen to them and obey their orders.

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Tsar Zuts Saturday, 14 January 2023 09:00 AM

We tourists really want to visit. 3 times my trip was cancelled due to change in regulations.

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Jason Saturday, 14 January 2023 10:03 AM

The last thing us tourists who are dying to visit Sri Lanka want is baseless health advise from the officials of Sri Lankan health ministry. Where do they get their health advise from? The current Covid-19 variant is slightly more infectious than the previous Omicron variant, according to the top health experts in the world. If these officials in Sri Lankan ministries were so clever, Sri Lanka wouldn't have gone into a cesspit. They are struggling to pay the $200M that they borrowed from a country like Bangladesh. The dollars we bring will help to revive the already fragile Sri Lankan economy. Those useless rules are going to turn tourists away.

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Cugan Saturday, 14 January 2023 01:24 PM

So it's only for tourists visa holders nor anyone from particular country lot of the Chinese got residents visa so they ok But any tourist wants similar attraction may be Kerala no RIP off treat fairly as you alresdy paid for visa so no double standards

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Lumbini Saturday, 14 January 2023 01:33 PM

Because of China, we ask all tourists to produce vaccine certificates. Why not ask only Chinese tourists? Scared of China?

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Dravid Bakmeena Saturday, 14 January 2023 01:36 PM

This is crazy indeed, a further blow to tourism industry just as when things were slowly picking up. All developed countries have learnt to live with this and this move is indeed a huge blow, hope the authorities will take action to reverse this which is needed to re build the country economy through tourism, especially when all other countries have done away with this need.

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Indira Kottegoda Sunday, 15 January 2023 04:06 AM

Each country has a right to protect it's citizens. In some, PCR tests are a requirement for those coming from particular countries, eg PRC. That is discriminatory but a country reserves the right. It is best for Sri Lanka to ask all arrivals for proof of vaccination of a negative PCR, as is this health advice recently announced. Yes health advice has to change as Covid keeps mutating, to come back at us. One country not to emulate, is Britain, a total disaster there, with health systems caving in.We may need the tourists but not at the expense of our population and significantly, our terribly depleted health system. Covid19 is unknown territory, medical science is still researching it's behaviour. This is war and it's not over yet. All those 'experts' above should consider leaving it to scientists and in the meantime let the government health authorities deal with arrivals.

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