Colombo, March 6 (newsin.asia) – Area residents in Sri Lanka’s Hendala, staged a protest opposite the Leprosy Hospital on Friday calling on the health ministry not to quarantine people arriving from Coronavirus-hit countries at the hospital.
The protesters blocked the Hendala-Hekitta Road to vehicular traffic and later staged a protest outside the hospital.
The Government this week announced that all passengers arriving from South Korea, Italy, China and Iran would undergo a mandatory quarantine period of 14 days and the Leprosy Hospital in Hendala would be converted to a quarantine area for the returning passengers.
However, area residents said that the hospital was situated in a populated area and bringing a large amount of people, some of whom may be carrying the virus, posed a significant risk to people of the area.
They protested, urging the government to select a less populated area to set up the quarantine center.