Sri Lanka today declared that all arrivals from India will be banned with immediate effect due to the record rise in COVID-19 cases in India. Sri Lanka's Civil Aviation Authority today said that travellers from India will not be allowed to disembark in Sri Lanka. The decision has been taken as the coronavirus continues to spread rapidly in India. The Director General Civil aviation in a letter to the CEO of the national carrier Srilankan Airlines has said, "in accordance with instructions received from health authorities of Sri Lanka due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, it is hereby directed that passengers travelling from India will not be permitted to disembark in Sri Lanka with immediate effect."
The announcement comes as India is struggling to battle a second deadlier wave of the pandemic. As of Thursday, India's overall Covid-19 caseload and death toll stood at 2,10,77,410 and 2,30,168, respectively. It has been 15 straight days that India has recorded more than three lakh cases daily, while the casualties have been over 3,000 deaths for nine consecutive days. Several countries like the UK, the UAE, Australia and Singapore have already banned travellers from India as well as other South Asian countries. Sri Lanka too is currently experiencing a rise in COVID-19 cases, nearly 2,000 new cases have been reported during each of the last 5 days up from average 200 per day up until mid-April.