COLOMBO, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan authorities said on Friday that a nationwide curfew will be imposed in the country on May 24-25 to prevent public movement on roads amid the COVID-19 outbreak which has so far infected over 1,000 people in the country.
A statement from the President's Office said an existing curfew in the capital Colombo and on the outskirts of Gampaha, which was imposed on March 24, would continue until further notice, while a countrywide curfew would come into effect on May 24-25.
May 25 has been declared as a public holiday in the country as the minority Muslims commemorate the Eid festival, marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The statement said that in other districts, apart from Colombo and Gampaha, curfew will be imposed from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily from May 25 until further notice. Colombo and Gampaha, however, would be open for economic activities despite the curfew but all activities would remain shut on May 24-25.
Sri Lanka has so far recorded over 1,000 COVID-19 infected patients out of which over 600 have recovered and been discharged.
Nine deaths from the virus have been reported in the country.
Authorities earlier this week said that discussions were underway to restore normalcy in the country soon. Enditem
