Sri Lankan government has stepped up its efforts to combat COVID 19 as the number of cases have risen to 22. Four more cases were detected on Monday while seven were tested positive on Sunday evening.

Most of the confirmed cases are among Sri Lankans returning from Italy. Government has ordered to temporarily close all museums in the country and postponed all examinations scheduled for this month until further notice.

Ministry of Transport has decided to temporary suspend all driving license services to avoid public gatherings.

Central bank has cut down the interest rate by 0.25 percent and statutory reserve ratio by 1 per cent to give a boost to the economy.

Meanwhile, two people were arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for spreading false information regarding COVID 19 on social media. DIG Ajith Rohana, speaking at a press briefing said that investigations are ongoing regarding nearly 40 other suspects for similar charges and that more arrests are expected to be made.

Schools are closed for more than a month while a public holiday was observed on Monday to control the situation.