Charging Rs. 7500 from those coming from Italy and Korea ... stops amidst protests

Charging Rs. 7500 from those coming from Italy and Korea ... stops amidst protests 

The government has taken steps to direct air passengers arriving in Sri Lanka from Italy, South Korea and Iran where the corona virus has spread ... to Batticaloa campus for quarantine purposes and it was reported this morning that that the government has decided to charge a sum of Rs. 750 from every person who is so directed for meals for a fortnight. Though it was informed that apart from the lodging provided, wi fi facilities would be totally provided free of charge, and that lodging is also offered on a gratis basis; the leaflet distributed in that connection says that as this sum of money is required to provide three meals per day .. to pay that amount of money in full when reporting for quarantine and to change the foreign currency in that instance and thus to settle the payment. Thus, the government has been ready to charge a sum of Rs. 1,245,000 at the rate of Rs. 7500 per person from the 166 persons arriving from Italy and Korea.

The said leaflet after being read in Batticaloa, the crowd who came for quarantine has gone into a commotion, it was reported. A copy of the leaflet was forwarded to the internet and as a consequence a serious protest was  targeted at this action by the social media. The context of those criticisms was that workers who bring in the biggest foreign exchange to Sri Lanka being charged this money at a moment when they have faced trouble is not justified.

Whatever it is, after this activity reached ears of relevant parties, authorities have taken steps to charge that sum of money. As such, army commander, lieutenant general Shavendra Silva emphasised that no fees would be charged from any individual directed for quarantine purposes. Prior to this, no sum of money was charged from the first batch who came from Wuhan in China. Seen below is the instruction leaflet which was the basis for creating this uproar