The Attorney General has sought clearance from relevant authorities to gain access and resume work at the at the Attorney General’s Department as PCR tests carried out on private security officers have come back negative for Covid-19, the AG’s Coordinating Office said.

The Attorney General’s Department was temporarily closed off until further notice after a female security officer attached to the department had been identified to have had direct contacts with COVID-19 patients.

On the instructions of the Attorney General, the Additional Solicitor General (Administration) has written to the Director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) regarding the matter.

The SIS has been coordinating the contact tracing of staff of Attorney General’s Department; who may have come in to contact with the lady security officer who had tested negative for COVID-19.

The letter states that the SIS Director had conveyed to the AG on April 22 and 23 that that 06 private security personnel, who supposedly had contact with the said lady security officer, were tested negative for COVID-19.

It further states that the SIS had sought information with regard to details of all persons who visited the Attorney General’s Department on March 19 and accordingly those details were provided this morning. It has been revealed that only two staff members had visited the AG’s Department on that day.

The Additional Solicitor General (Administration) states that steps were taken by the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) to disinfect the premises of the AG’s Department.

As a result of the discovery of the said COVID-19 patient, the premises of the Department had been declared as out of bounds to all staff and it remains so up to date. 

In the circumstances, Additional Solicitor General(Administration) requests the Director SIS to inform him as to whether it is safe and permissible to permit officers and staff to visit the Attorney General’s Department and resume their normal course of work, whenever the situation so demands.