Foreigners must undergo testing at BIA

Ministries of Tourism and Health have made a big blunder by allowing Indians who arrive at Katunayake Airport with their Certificates of Vaccination and PCR Test Certificates showing Negative Test Result to leave the Airport and go anywhere in Sri Lanka, without taking a PCR Test at the Airport. They pose a real Covid-19 risk to Sri Lankans, because there is a good chance that some of their certificates are forged documents.

Some months ago, immediately after the Kumbh Mela 2021 Festival, in which millions of Hindus bathed in the River Ganges, it was discovered that hundreds of thousands of their Vaccination Certificates were forged. The result was a huge wave of Covid-19 epidemic in which tens of thousands of Indians died.

A PCR Test at Katunayake Airport should be mandatory, not only for Indians but also for other nationalities including Pakistan, Ukraine and Russia, i.e. for countries in which less than 50 % of the population has been vaccinated.

Allowing Europeans coming from countries in which more than 75 % of the population has been fully vaccinated, i.e. Switzerland, Germany. Austria, Sweden, England, etc., to leave Katunayake Airport and go anywhere in Sri Lanka without taking a PCR Test at Katunayake, is a wise decision. These tourists have been fully vaccinated and have taken a PCR Test less than 72 hours before departure. Note that in Airports in Europe, a passenger is not allowed to take a flight unless he /she produces those certificates. Their arrival will help revive our tourist industry. They will come to Sri Lanka in their thousands because things have been made easier for them.

What has happened to the state-of-the-art PCR Testing Laboratory near Katunayake Airport that was built by the Airport Authority? It was expected to test about 700 tourists per hour and issue reports within three hours. It has stopped functioning immediately after the opening ceremony. Now, almost one week later, they are still trying to solve their computer problems. Was it sabotaged by the private PCR lab owners because they were going to lose making big money? Incoming Indian Tourists should be tested there.

ANTON PEIRIS

Nyon, Switzerland