Coronavirus scare: Sri Lanka bans all incoming flights for 2 weeks

Sri Lanka on Tuesday banned all incoming flights for two weeks starting Wednesday to limit the number of novel coronavirus cases in the country.

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تاریخ: ۲۷ اسفند ۱۳۹۸ - ۱۴:۳۹

The development was confirmed to news agency Reuters by a Sri Lankan government spokesperson. Mohan Samaranayake spokesperson for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said flights already in the air will be allowed to land and passengers can disembark.

However, those which are yet to take off from their respective destinations will not be allowed to land in Sri Lanka. All passengers who had booked tickets will now have to wait two week before returning.

Many countries are announcing travel and flight bans in the wake of an explosion in Covid-19 cases across North America, Europe and Middle East. Most Asian countries, according to a Reuters report, stand the risk of facing imported infections as people flee worst-affected nations like Italy, Spain and France.

India, too, has restricted travel cases in the country have gone up to 126. The death on Tuesday also increased by one after a person who had travel history to Dubai died in Mumbai.

There are high chances that the toll of confirmed cases could rise further next week. Globally, the virus has claimed over 6,600 lives and infected over 1.6 lakh people.