Mar 11, Colombo: Shehan Sumanasekara, Director, Airport and Aviation Services Limited said 622 Sri Lankan passengers arrived from Iran, Italy and South Korea have been sent to quarantine centers at Kandakadu, Polonnaruwa and Batticaloa Private University for a period of 14 days.

The Ministry of Health and the Sri Lanka Army had used 25 luxury buses to transport the arrivals and another five vans to transport their luggage to the quarantine centers.

However, as of 8pm Wednesday, around 50 passengers arrived from these countries are protesting in the airport terminal building, demanding that they not be taken for quarantine, and to allow them to return home without a delay. Director Shehan Sumanasekara said.

Addressing a media conference at the Defense Ministry’s Media Center in Kollupitiya today, Military Spokesman Brigadier Chandana Wickremasinghe stressed that everyone as Sri Lankans should support the government in protecting the public from the coronavirus virus and if those who are arriving in the country from COVID_19 affected countries do not want to support the quarantine process, they can return to where they came from.

The Military Spokesman explained that the armed forces have the responsibility of protecting the country's 21 million people and the national security and at this time legal provisions have been made to take action against those who do not support the government's quarantine process.

The Government has issued a circular through the Ministry of Health stating that passengers arriving in Sri Lanka from Iran, Italy and South Korea must undergo a 14-day period of isolation to prevent the spread of the disease in the country.

Director of the Airport Shehan Sumanasekara said that the relevant authorities and the Katunayake Airport in particular have been made aware of this.

Shehan Sumanasekera added that the clash erupted at the Bandaranaike International Airport today since the passengers were not aware of this process until they arrived at the Airport.

"The current process will reveal whether air travelers have been infected with the disease, and their children and their families as well as the entire public in the country will be protected from the coronavirus," Sumanasekera added.

The Military Spokesman said if foreign workers come to Sri Lanka, they should act in accordance with the law of Sri Lanka and he has the responsibility of looking after these people. He said that if any of them had been infected with coronavirus, they would have to undergo a 14-day quarantine to prevent the spread of the virus.

Brigadier Chandana Wickremasinghe said that the government has given maximum facilities to those who are being sent to the Poonani and Kandakadu quarantine centers in Batticaloa.

The spokesman added that the visitors arrived so far had not been quarantined in any other location except Poonani and Kandakadu centers.