Sri Lanka has decided to stop all flight arrivals at Colombo airport from Wednesday midnight in a bid to counter COVID-19 crisis which has affected 35 people in the country so far.

The ban on passenger flight arrivals will be in force till end of this month. However, departure, transit and cargo operations will continue.

Efforts are also being made to bring back over thousand Buddhist pilgrims from India who had gone on pilgrimage before the crisis erupted last week.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will address the nation this evening as there is pressure from some corners to announce a lockdown all over the country to control the situation.

Government has already ordered closure of offices and business establishments till Thursday.

Government ordered people returning from Europe, Iran or South Korea earlier this month to register at the nearest police station for the benefit of themselves and the community.

Defence ministry said over 170 such passengers, have not been subjected to quarantine process and said judicial actions will be taken against the persons who fail to comply with this order.

Meanwhile, army chief Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva has been appointed as the head of the national operations centre for prevention of Covid-19.