President of the Association of Government Medical Laboratory Technologists, Ravi Kumudesh said certain statements made by individuals confirm that health or scientific requirements for Covid control have not been given much consideration when bringing in Ukrainians to Sri Lanka as part of a pilot tourism project.
“Such disregard for the existing quarantine law as well as the disease control regulations and instructions of the Ministry of Health would make the general public also not accept and adhere to them, thereby endangering epidemic control.” he said.
“In particular, a statement made to the media by a person who introduces himself as a pioneer in attracting tourists to the country shows that tourists do not have faith or respect in the quarantine laws in the country” he added.
According to him the person has challenged the Ministry of Health by stating that the tourists are not insane to be quarantined for 14 days and that there is no need to conduct five PCR tests while also saying that the existing laws in the country are not practical.
“Also, as a head of the Tourist Board has stated to the media, it seems that the quarantine law which was in place for fourteen days has been reduced to seven days due to his influence” Kumudesh noted.
“Considering all these factors, it is questionable whether the Ministry of Health has formulated quarantine laws for the behavior of individuals rather than the behavior of viruses.” he asked.
He also said that if the Ministry of Health changes the quarantine law, the scientific basis for it should be clarified and it should apply in the same way to the people of this country and to our helpless workers in the Middle East.
