Home quarantine required for UK returnees

COLOMBO (News1st): Expatriates returning from the UK on Tuesday must undergo home quarantine in addition to the two-week quarantine period at hotels, the President's Office has announced. The latest directive comes weeks after authorities had lifted the mandatory 14-day home quarantine imposed on expatriates returning from overseas. "The decision was reached at the daily COVID-19 committee meeting upon analyzing the new strain of the virus and its spread," the President's Media Division said in a statement. Crew members aboard cargo flights that arrive from the UK will also be subjected to the quarantine procedure, the statement noted. On Tuesday, Sri Lanka joined more than 40 other countries to suspend flights from the UK beginning Wednesday after a new strain of the COVID-19 virus had been detected in the European nation. Returnees will be directed to undergo quarantine at hotels based on the results of PCR tests that would be carried out upon arrival to the country.