Army Commander General Shavendra Silva says that inter-provincial travel restrictions will be further tightened from midnight today (13).

He stated this while announcing the decisions taken today during the meeting of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 Control, held under the patronage of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The Army Commander said that traveling between provinces will be completely prohibited from midnight today in order to control the spread of Covid-19 and that inter-provincial public transport services will also be suspended.

He said that only those in the banking, agricultural, apparel and tourism sectors as well as those engaged in essential services including healthcare, ports, airport will be allowed to travel between provinces.

The Army Commander further said people over the age of 30 years accessing public venues after September 15 will be subjected to inspection to ascertain if they have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

He added that health guidelines given by authorities will have to be strictly followed at supermarkets, shops, shopping malls and restaurants etc. 

With regard to calling employees to work in the public and private sectors, the heads of respective institutions are vested with the authority to recall employees living outside of the relevant province. At institutions in the private sector, employees should be called to work while adhering to health guidelines and while considering the space at the place of work.