2 additional weeks for virus lockdown

Sri Lanka on Friday extended the COVID-19 lockdown by another two weeks amid pressure from medical experts.

The current lockdown was to end on Tuesday. A special meeting of the COVID-19 Control Committee chaired by President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa decided to extend the measures until Oct. 1, according to presidential spokesman Kingsly Rathnayaka.

Medical experts have said although Sri Lanka has seen a decline in daily cases and deaths, it remains at risk. The past 24 hours saw 2,314 confirmed cases.

The lockdown was first imposed on Aug. 20 and extended four times.