Sri Lanka appeals to Hindu communities to curtail Diwali religious activities amidst COVID-19 spike

In a special request, the health ministry has asked communities in the tea plantation areas, where the Tamils of India-origin live, to act strictly according to the health ministry guidelines during the Diwali celebrations. Diwali activities in the country need to be curtailed this time to contain the spread of coronavirus, the health ministry said.

The Sri Lankan government has appealed to the Hindu communities in the country to curtail their activities at religious sites during Diwali this year to contain the spread of the coronavirus that has infected over 15,000 people in the island nation. In a special request, the health ministry has asked communities in the tea plantation areas, where the Tamils of India-origin live, to act strictly according to the health ministry guidelines during the Diwali celebrations.

Diwali activities in the country need to be curtailed this time to contain the spread of coronavirus, the health ministry said. Alarms were raised about the threat of community spread when the Western province was shut for movement until Sunday evening. This was following health officials identifying 644 new COVID-19 patients over a 24-hour period until Thursday morning.

It was only 3 days ago that a 10-day lockdown of the Western province including the capital district of Colombo was lifted. Police said that anyone defying the order not to leave the Western province until Sunday would be kept in isolation in their locations.

Sri Lanka’s tally of COVID-19 patients has spiked to 15,350, with 5,121 active cases and 523 under investigation in hospitals. The country has reported 46 deaths. The public health inspectors said several areas are heading towards recording community spread of the pandemic.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)