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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Tribal man brings dead sister's skeleton to bank to withdraw money from her account
Keonjhar (PTI): A tribal man in Odisha's Keonjhar district on Monday brought the skeleton of his dead sister to a bank to withdraw the money deposited in her name, police said.
The incident occurred at Maliposi branch of Odisha Grameen Bank located at Patana block of Keonjhar district. The man was identified as Jeetu Munda (50) of Dianali village. He was seeking to withdraw Rs 20,000 from the bank account of his elder sister, Kalra Munda (56), who died on January 26, 2026.
"I have run several times to the bank, and the people there told me to bring the account holder to withdraw money deposited in her name. Though I told them that she had died, they did not listen to me and insisted on bringing her to the bank. Therefore, out of frustration, I dug the grave and brought out her skeleton as proof of her death," an illiterate Jeetu Munda told reporters.
Patana Police Station Inspector in charge (IIC) Kiran Prasad Sahu, who reached the bank after getting information, said, "Jeetu is an illiterate tribal man. He does not know what the legal heir or nominee is. The bank officials have failed to make him understand the procedure to withdraw money from the dead person's account."
However, after the incident, the police assured Jeetu Munda that they would facilitate the withdrawal of money from the bank account of his dead sister. Later, the skeleton was again buried at the graveyard in presence of police.
Meanwhile, local Block Development Officer (BDO) Manas Dandpat said that he was not approached by anyone for the legal heir of late Kalra Munda. "Today only, I came to know about it. We will see what can be done to resolve the issue," the BDO said.
Meanwhile, bank sources said that the nominee in Kalra Munda's bank account was also dead. Therefore, Jeetu Munda was the lone claimant over the money deposited in her name.
The local administration has directed the bank officers to make arrangements and ensure that Jeetu Munda, who is the only claimant as per the rules, gets the money as soon as possible.
