454 persons who left Western Province placed under quarantine

At least 454 persons who had travelled out of the Western Province on October 29 and 30 prior to the curfew were traced from several locations and had been placed under quarantine, Police Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana said.

Meanwhile, police stations across the island have been instructed to identify persons from 67 Police divisions who have travelled out of their districts and are now lodged at private hotels, state bungalows, guest houses and other places of accommodation. 

Such persons or groups would be subjected to quarantine for a period of 14 days at the places they are presently lodged at, according to instructions issued by Acting Inspector General of Police C.D. Wickramaratna. 

Any person belonging to 67 police divisions where the curfew is currently imposed, will be subjected to quarantine if they have travelled out of their residential areas on or around October 29. 

Police stations across the island will be required to update Police Headquarters with the number of persons subjected to quarantine in each area, and have been instructed to monitor them until further instructions are issued.

Accordingly, if any person objects to quarantine procedures or attempts to leave the venue, hotel owners and managers are required to inform the nearest police station. Such persons must also be reported to the area health officials, the Acting IGP said. 

He further instructed officers to verify if people who travelled have violated the conditions of curfew permits, or the permits granted for essential services, during the past few days. 

The 67 police divisions include Minuwangoda, Gampaha, Kochchikade, Ja-Ela, Panadura, Moratuwa, Beruwala, Aluthgama and Kuliyapitiya among others. (Kalani Kumarasinghe)