Private sector removed; Sri Lanka Army to start printing driving license since January

Sri Lanka Minister of Transport Gamini Lokuge said that Sri Lanka Army would start the printing of driving licenses in Sri Lanka since January 2021. The cabinet of Sri Lanka decided on 01 July 2020 to hand over the contract to Army under the direction of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. 

Sri Lanka Army has established a Centre for National IT Solutions to cater to the future national-level IT projects in the country.

The Minister stated that the purpose was saving money. He said that a large sum of money was spent by the Ministry for printing driving licenses from the private sector. 

Audit reports revealed that Sri Lanka Motor Traffic Department had paid over Rs. 9 billion to a private company from 2009 to 2017.

Five COVID-19 deaths today; four without hospitalization

Three of the five COVID-19 deaths reported today (November 13) so far occurred at home while another person died before hospitalization. 

An 83 years old woman from Colombo-14, a 78 years old male from Colombo-13 and a 64 years old man from Colombo-13 died at home. Another 69 years old male from Rathmalana died before hospitalization. 

High blood pressure, diabetes, asthma and heart attacks have been cited as the causes of death.

Meanwhile, a 68-year-old male resident of Chilaw died at Mulleriyawa hospital due to high blood pressure and stroke. 

The total of COVID-19 deaths in Sri Lanka is 53 now. 

Sri Lankan family in Australia fight against deportation to stay

A Sri Lankan family whose temporary protection visas have since been rejected and appealed hit headlines of some of the Australian media due to the protests of their neighbours demanding let them stay.

Mechanic Rajitha Udawatta, the family's primary visa holder, passed away in September, leaving his wife Florence and three of their four children in a precarious position, Daily Mail Australia reported. Udawatta died due to bowel cancer the day after his 50th birthday.

Rajitha Udawatta belonged Sinhala majority community of Sri Lanka and the family have not sought political asylum. 

The family do not want to return to Sri Lanka and their neighbours in Kempsey in New South Wales have rallied around their desperate fight to stay.

Udawatta's eldest daughter Hirushi, who is training to become a chef, is able to stay in Australia on a student visa. But Ms Udawatta will have to return to Sri Lanka with her other children Ruvish, 17,  Jeniffer, 8, and Duane, 7, if the family lose their appeal to stay.

"Family is here because we can't feel that we are Sri Lankans when we are here. We are just like Australians,"  Ms Udawatta said to Daily Mail Australia. "So, our dream is to stay here."

Raj Udawatta migrated to Australia in 2014 and his family joined him two years later. He was diagnosed with bowel cancer and passed away in September 2020. 

Read more in Daily Mail

Sri Lankans in South Korea to be brought back since next week

Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFEB) says that repatriation of Sri Lankan expatriate workers from South Korea will start next week. The media spokesman of SLFEB, Mangala Randeniya said that the chief of National Operation Center for the Prevention of COVID-19, Army Commander Shavendra Silva had granted permission for this. 

Randeniya further said that some Sri Lankans who had signed agreements with the employers were waiting to go to South Korea. The Sri Lankan expatriate workers in South Korea whose job agreements are expired now must be brought to Sri Lanka to facilitate the others to go there. 

Over 1,000 Sri Lankan workers whose contracts have expired are waiting for flights to return to Sri Lanka, sources say.

Twenty-three thousand Sri Lankans work in South Korea now. 

Sri Lanka government creates controversy over dead bodies of COVID-19 patients

Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's elder brother and Minister Chamal Rajapaksa said to media that the cabinet had approved providing a suitable place to bury the dead bodies of Muslim persons who die with COVID-19. The Minister said that the decision had been taken at the last cabinet meeting held on Monday. 

Meanwhile, Minister Wimal Weerawansa said that the cabinet had discussed the issue but not taken such a decision. He highlighted that no decision had been taken to change the present policy of cremating all COVID-19 dead bodies. 

However, government MP Premnath C. Dolawatta said that he had complained to the acting Inspector General of Police against the letter by Ceylon Thawheed Jamath thanking the government for granting permission for the burial of the COVID-19 dead bodies of Muslims. He said that the letter was causing communal disharmony.

Four Chinese workers staying in Port City diagnosed COVID-19 positive

Four Chinese employees working in a contract in Colombo are diagnosed COVID-19, health sources say.

China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) announced that the four Chinese nationals had worked in Kotahena in Colombo city and stayed temporarily in the workers' residences in Colombo Port City. Two Sri Lankans who stayed in the same residence have diagnosed positive for COVID-19. 

CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd said that the residence in the Port City used by these infected employees had been used only by the employees in Kotahena outside of the Port City. The employees of the Port City project have neither used that residence and nor associated these workers. 

The patients were diagnosed through random PCR tests conducted in Port City, the company said. 

The residence is now isolated.  

Sri Lanka government close to admit community spread of COVID-19

Health Ministry Spokesman Dr. Jayaruwan Bandara said that in the context of estimated 30,000 COVID-19 persons live in Colombo city, the country's COVID-19 level must be reconsidered and the attitudes must be changed. 

Sri Lanka Ministry of Health presently categorizes the country in the third level of risk in which multiple clusters of patients are diagnosed around the country.

Ruwan Wijayamuni, Chief Medical Health Officer of Colombo Municipal Council said earlier that there could be around 30,000 COVID-19 persons in Colombo city alone. 

Around 3,500 COVID-19 infected persons have been diagnosed so far in Colombo city alone. 

Mattakkuliya, Modara, Bloemandahl, Kotahena, Grandpass, Coastal, Aduruppu Weediya, Maligawatta, Dematogoda, Wellampitiya, Borella and Keselwatta areas of Colombo city remain locked down.