Foreigners arriving in Sri Lanka by passenger ships would not be allowed to disembark with immediate effect due to the risks posed by the rapid spread of COVID-19, the Director-General of the Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe said.

Addressing a special media briefing in Colombo today (3),  Dr. Jasinghe further stated that the Health Ministry reached a decision to quarantine all passengers, both locals and foreigners, arriving in the country from Italy, South Korea and Iran for 14 days.

A total of 1,145 passengers – 419 from South Korea and 726 from Italy – have arrived in the country during five-day period from February 25th to 29th, Dr. Jasinghe commented.

According, SLTDA Statistics approximately 98,834 tourists have arrived in Sri Lanka last year by Sea.

Cruise Tourism plays an important role in boosting up the Tourism sector in Sri Lanka, thereby enabling more tourists to visit the destination. Sri Lanka received Several cruise liners during the past few months, including ‘’Costa Fortuna’’, ‘’Marella Discovery’’   Sapphire Princess’ ’and ‘’Mein Schiff 6’’ to name a few. The visits of these passenger cruises were added contribution to the tourism promotional activities carried out by Sri Lanka Tourism.

Meanwhile, Earlier today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that a 46-year-old Sri Lankan female in Italy has been tested positive for COVID-19.

Over 104,000 Sri Lankans reside in Italy of which approximately 60% are in the Lombardy region.

As of 2 March, the coronavirus outbreak has affected an estimated 87,000 people globally. In mainland China, of the 80,026 confirmed cases, 44,462 (56%) have recovered and 2,912 (or 3.6%) have died. The most badly affected include Japan, with 850 cases, including 691 from a cruise ship docked in Yokohama, and four deaths. Italy has recorded at least 1,100 cases and 29 deaths, while South Korea has recorded more than 4,212 cases and 22 deaths. There have also been deaths in Hong Kong, Taiwan, France, the US and the Philippines.  There have been 40 recorded cases and no fatalities to date in the UK. At this stage, it is difficult to know the exact impact of the virus, but the human cost is significant.