Buses ordered to comply with seating capacity

Buses will only be allowed to carry passengers according to their seating capacity, State Bus Transport Services Minister Dilum Amunugama said.

He said that all private and Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) buses are expected to comply with this directive with immediate effect.The decision to strictly enforce the rule was taken yesterday after a garment factory employee in Divulapitiya tested positive for Covid-19.

The 39-year-old employee who had been admitted to the Gampaha hospital with a fever was tested prior to being discharged and she was found to be positive when a PCR test was carried out.

Subsequently she was admitted to the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) in Angoda.

A curfew was later declared in the Divulapitiya and Minuwangoda areas in Gampaha.The government previously enforced the rule that passengers were to be transported in public transport in a limited manner maintaining social distancing. However, with the threat of the Coronavirus reducing country-wide, such precautions were disregarded.

Previously, the last detected community infection was reported on March 30 and the country celebrated over 50 days of no community infections until yesterday’s detection.

(Source: Daily News – By Camelia Nathaniel)