COLOMBO (NewsRadio); Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella says Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 protocols and procedures remain unchanged despite yesterday’s announcement by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.
Accordingly, Health Minister Rambukwella said despite the SLTDA statement and the media reports, no changes have been made to the COVID-19 protocols by the Health Ministry.
In a tweet, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella added that the Health Ministry is constantly in discussion with the World Health Organisation pertaining COVID-19 protocols.
Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella stressed that any announcements regarding COVID-19-related matters will be made by either the Health Ministry of the Presidential Secretariat.
The development comes after the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority yesterday announced that the government has introduced new COVID-19 protocols and procedures for all inbound travelers, considering the increase in coronavirus cases in many countries.
The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority said in a special statement that all inbound travelers must be in possession of a vaccination card and those who are not vaccinated against COVID-19, will be required to produce a PCR report obtained 72 hours prior to arrival.
The new protocol is bound to impact the tourism sector but the SLTDA said there will be no exception to the rule for any nationality or country in order to prevent any discrimination.
It added Sri Lanka Tourism will be guided by the Ministry of Health and World Health Organization guidelines.
The SLTDA also noted that relevant institutions in Sri Lanka will keep a close watch on any new COVID-19 related developments in consultation with health authorities.
However, the Health Minister has now effectively overruled the announcement made by the SLTDA.
#lka entry status quo remains UNCHANGED despite news alerts in the past 12h. @MoH_SriLanka is in real-time discussion w/@WHO. Any statement pertinent to #Covid19SL will either be made from the Health Min or Presidential Sec. Urge all media institutions to adhere to this protocol.
— Keheliya Rambukwella (@Keheliya_R) January 14, 2023
