Army Commander Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva says the quarantine curfew in Western Province is likely to be lifted after November 09.

Speaking to ‘Derana Aruna’ programme this morning (05), he said it is imperative to reopen the country as soon as possible.

He explained that the purpose of the 10-day quarantine curfew was to curtail the spread of Covid-19 in the Western Province, the region with the highest population density in the country.

The President gave clear instructions to arrest the virus spread within these 10 days by taking all necessary measures and to reopen the Western Province by next Monday (November 09), the army chief continued.

As health authorities have pointed out, the Covid-19 virus in Sri Lanka has higher infectivity that it could infect people if they wear face masks the wrong way, he stressed.

The Head of the National Operation Centre for Prevention of Covid-19 Outbreak appealed to the members of the public to support the efforts of authorities in preventing the spread of the virus in order to lift the quarantine curfew imposed within the Western Province.

The quarantine curfew on the Western Province came into effect on October 29 and was scheduled to be lifted at 5.00 am on November 02, however, it was extended until 5.00 am on November 09, taking into account the spike in novel coronavirus figures.