Sri Lanka May Open Borders For Tourists After August 15 - Ambassador To Russia

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th July, 2020) Sri Lanka may open borders for foreign tourists after August 15 and the government is doing everything possible to accelerate this process, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Moscow Mikhalgalande Durage Lamawansa said on Thursday.

Sri Lanka had previously planned to resume international tourism in mid-July, but in light of the coronavirus pandemic, opening the borders to foreigners was postponed until August 1. According to the ambassador, the Sri Lankan government is likely to decide to postpone opening the borders for another two weeks.

"Initially, we planned to open the country on July 15, but then we moved the deadline to August 1. Moreover, a new COVID-19 outbreak was registered a few days ago in a rehabilitation center for drug addicts. We immediately took appropriate precautions, so the opening of the country for tourists will be most likely postponed for another two weeks, perhaps, until August 15," the ambassador said, as aired by the Rossiya 24 broadcaster.

According to Lamawansa, the government of Sri Lanka is deciding to make tourist visas free for a number of countries and Russia will be on the list.

"Now we are discussing how to provide the necessary services to all tourists, including from Russia. The fact is that during their stay in Sri Lanka they will need to do a test for coronavirus three or four times. The hotels, where they stay, will have to comply with all sanitary measures. Health authorities will closely monitor this. Passenger transport capacity will be reduced by half," the diplomat added.

Sri Lanka has confirmed over 2,600 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic and 11 fatalities.