200+ RUSSIAN TOURISTS ARRIVE ON SATURDAY

COLOMBO (News1st): A batch of more than 200 Russian tourists are set to arrive in the country on December 26 as Sri Lanka opens its doors for non-repatriation flights, government officials said. The tourists will be subjected to PCR tests before and after entering the country and would be part of a bio-bubble, isolated from the outside world, co-cabinet spokesman Ramesh Pathirana told media. "Tourists arriving from overseas will bear all costs for the PCR tests," he told reporters. The co-cabinet spokesman did not respond to queries raised by journalists on the areas and the hotels allocated for the tourists, but insisted that the exercise will take place as a "pilot project". Sri Lanka bolted its doors for commercial flights and tourists on March 18 as the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in the South Asian island nation that is a hotspot for tourists.