Colombo, December 31 (Daily Mirror) – Three tourists who arrived from Ukraine and tested positive for the COVID-19 have been placed under treatment at a centre set up at the hotel they have been housed in, and their first contacts have also been identified, an official from the Health Ministry told Daily Mirror.
While the group arrived here earlier this week, under a strict travel bubble, all were subject to a PCR test once they reached their hotel, and out of the 185 Ukrainian tourists, three tested positive for the virus.
All the remaining 182 tourists are not identified as first contacts but those who these three tourists closely associated with, have been identified. They will be subject to a PCR test once again after a few days.
A senior Health Ministry official said once the airport was re-opened for these tourists, they were expecting some arrivals to test positive that is why all prior arrangements had been made. Under the strict travel bubble, these tourists will not come in contact with society and will be taken to selected destinations only and will not be able to leave their hotels otherwise.
“This is not an additional threat to us. We were expecting this and all arrangements were in place.
When other countries are also facing the COVID-19 we cannot expect that no tourist will test positive. But for that we are ready. People do not need to panic about this,” the official said.
The rest of the Ukrainian group will continue with their tour under strict health guidelines and there will be no changes to their itinerary, the Daily Mirror learns.
The positive patients will be treated here and sent back after they recover. (Jamila Husain)
