Sri Lanka suspends visa on arrival for Chinese citizens after 1st case of coronavirus
Colombo: Sri Lanka suspended its policy of granting visa on arrival for Chinese travellers on Tuesday, a day after the health authorities detected the country's first coronavirus infection.
Sudath Suraweera, the chief epidemiologist of the country's health ministry, said on Monday that a 40-year-old Chinese woman was found positive for the virus.
"She arrived on January 19 and was tested positive for the virus when she was leaving the airport on January 25. She was admitted to the infectious diseases hospital," he said.
Following the first detection of the coronavirus case, the Sri Lankan health authorities ordered the suspension of the on arrival visa policy for the Chinese nationals.
Travellers from China must apply for visa via the online portal, the authorities said.
The officials at Colombo international airport said the entry to airport's arrival and departure terminals had been restricted to passengers only.
Some 65 Sri Lankan students in China returned by Monday. Another flight to evacuate students is due to leave on Tuesday. A total of 204 students have been evacuated in the last three days.
The government has said that it has completed the collection of information on students in China. A National Action Committee to prevent the spreading of coronavirus was convened on Monday. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed the committee comprising health experts.
Sri Lanka has become a major travel destination for Chinese tourists. Many Chinese nationals also work on Chinese-funded infrastructure projects - including a sea port, port city and highways.
The death toll in China's deadly coronavirus epidemic has crossed the 100 mark while the confirmed cases have gone up to 4200.
In April last year, Sri Lanka suspended its plans to grant visas on arrival for citizens of 39 countries after the devastating Easter suicide bombings that killed nearly 360 people.
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Kantara mimicking case: HC extends interim relief given to actor Ranveer Singh till March 9
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka High Court on Monday extended the interim relief given to Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh till March 9, in a case related to mimicking a character from the movie, 'Kantara Chapter-1', and allegedly mocking a deity.
The actor had approached the High Court seeking the quashing of the FIR against him for mimicking Rishab Shetty's role as 'Chavunda' deity in the movie.
While mimicking, Singh had called the deity a "ghost". The actor was asked to appear before the court in person on Monday.
Appearing on behalf of the actor, his counsel Sajjan Poovayya said Singh was stuck in London and was unable to reach Bengaluru due to the conflict in West Asia.
The complainant, who is a lawyer, alleged that his religious sentiments were hurt by calling the deity a ghost. On the directions of a local Court, the police registered a case against the actor.
The High Court on February 24 granted interim relief to the actor with directions to the police not to take any coercive steps against him.
