The Technical Committee of the Health Ministry will meet to discuss relaxing quarantine regulations for travellers to Sri Lanka, Primary Health Care, Epidemics and Covid-19 Disease Control State Minister Dr. Sudarshani Fernandopulle told the Sunday Observer.
She said the committee will have to weigh-in scientific information regarding vaccines before taking a decision.
“It is found that even though a vaccinated person is protected, he or she can spread the infection. They still have to wear masks and observe social distancing. We have also to consider information regarding new variants,” Dr. Fernandopulle said, adding that the protection of Sri Lankans is the paramount interest of the Government.
Travellers to the country are required to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine at state-run quarantine centres or at paid facilities.
The process was, however, relaxed for diplomats, the staff of the United Nations and their family members. They can undergo home quarantine after getting prior approval from the Director General of Health and the Medical Officer of Health (MoH) who will give the approval after inspecting the arranged place of quarantining.
Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena said a mandatory 14-day home-quarantine is applicable only for the staff members and their accompanying parents, spouses and children arriving from overseas.
“They should abide by the strict home quarantine procedures recommended by the Health Ministry. Other family members in the same household need not undergo home quarantine,” he said.
Army Commander General Shavendra Silva told the media that one of the possibilities the committee will be exploring is obtaining a vaccination report and a PCR taken within 48 hours before arrival.
Vaccination drive
According to statistics by the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry, by March 11, 75,9548 people were given the Covid-19 vaccines since the drive commenced on January 29.
On March 7, the country received the first doses (264,000) from the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) COVAX facility, which has pledged to provide doses to vaccinate 20 percent of the population that is 8.4 million doses. By May, 1,440,000 doses will arrive in the country.
COVAX is a global vaccine initiative co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), funded by donations from governments, multilateral institutions and foundations; with UNICEF leading on procurement, logistics and storage globally in what will be the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history, a statement by the WHO stated.
Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said, “Sri Lanka is one of the first countries to initiate vaccine roll out. We thank our partners for their contributions to protect our population against Covid-19 and for their continuous collaboration in strengthening the country’s capacities and building a more resilient health system for better preparedness and response to future health emergencies.”
The country also received free vaccine doses from India and China. The Government will purchase doses of the Astra Zeneca/Oxford vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII).
New variants
As countries race to vaccinate their people against Covid-19, concerns have arose regarding its mutations and emergence of new variants.
The Allergy Immunology and Cell Biology Unit, Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, raised concerns about B.1.1.7 (the virus with UK lineage) which was detected in Sri Lanka. The variant is said to be more infectious than the other variants detected in the country.
During an interview, the World Health Organization’s technical lead on Covid-19 and Infectious Disease Epidemiologist Dr Maria Van Kerkhove said protection against this is all about individual level measures, ‘physical distancing, hand hygiene, wearing a mask, respiratory etiquette, opening a window, avoiding crowded spaces, staying at home if you’re unwell and making sure you get tested if needed’.
The WHO is studying different variants. “The first is the B.1.1.7 that was first identified in the United Kingdom. The second is the B.1.351 that was first identified in South Africa. The third is the P.1, which was first circulating in Brazil, but it was identified among travellers arriving in Japan.
We are tracking changes in the virus and what this means in terms of transmission, severity and impact or potential impact on diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.
“The information that we have is that there is increased transmissibility in the B.1.1.7 and the B.1.351 virus variants. This results from a mutation that allows this virus variant to bind to the human cell more easily. We do not see an increase yet in transmission with the P.1, but that is under investigation. In terms of severity, there are some studies from the United Kingdom that suggest that the B.1.1.7 has increased severity,” she said.
Dr. Kerkhove added that the information they have gathered shows that the vaccines work against the new virus variants.
Tourism
The tourism sector is confident that the relaxing of quarantine measures as part of vaccination will encourage more tourists to the country. Borders were reopened for tourists on January 21 after nearly a year of closure that brought the tourism industry to a standstill.
In February, since the reopening, 3,366 tourists have arrived in the island, according to statistics by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). The largest source markets were Kazakhstan, followed by Ukraine and Germany.
In February last year, 207, 507 tourists arrived in the country and in March 71,370. Since then, the number of arrivals plunged as the Government closed all borders to keep Covid-19 at bay.
The Government has also started to vaccinate people attached to the tourism industry and investment sector following a request by Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga. This includes about 300,000 employees of the tourism sector.