Sri Lanka cancels trains as COVID-19 cases grow
Sri Lankan health workers take a swab sample from a port employee to test for COVID-19 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Oct 22, 2020. (Photo: AP/Eranga Jayawardena)
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan authorities have terminated a number of passenger trains and widened the curfew as COVID-19 cases related to a new cluster at a garment factory continue to surge.
The Railway Department cancelled at least 16 trains – mostly ran through busy office hours – after the number of commuters declined due to the curfew imposed in many parts of the country.
More than a dozen villages are isolated in densely populated Western province, which includes capital Colombo.
Authorities last week closed the island's main fish market on Colombo's outskirts after 49 traders tested positive for the coronavirus. By Sunday (Oct 25), the number of cases from the fish market went up to nearly 900.
READ: Sri Lanka closes fish market, expands curfew as COVID-19 outbreak grows
Authorities say the outbreak is linked to a cluster in a garment factory early this month, which has grown to 4,052 cases, more than half the country's total of 7,521. During the last 24 hours, 368 new cases have been detected.
In a bid to contain the spread, health authorities also closed three fishery harbours and many fish stalls around the country.
Several thousand people have been asked to quarantine at home. Schools and key public offices are closed and gatherings banned. The death toll rose to 15 on Saturday.
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