The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in a communique asserted that all precautionary measures have been taken after it was found that one of the family members of an officer of the MFA was diagnosed with COVID-19.
“It is firmly asserted that the Foreign Relations Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and members of the Sri Lanka delegation to the recent Human Rights Council Meeting in Geneva had only interacted with the Foreign Ministry official concerned prior to the officer’s sole contact with the affected family member who was already travelling in Europe on a private engagement, during the period of February 29 to March 1,” the release said. Minister Gunawardena had reportedly not come in to contact with the officer, following the officer’s return to Colombo on March 8.
“The officer had arrived at the Ministry only on one working day in the week starting from March 9, which was prior to the return of the infected family member to Colombo a few days later from the officer’s arrival.” As a precautionary step, all staff who have come in to contact with the officer on this one working day last week, staff and family members residing in the Ministry quarters where the officer and family member reside and the staff of the Geneva Permanent Mission where the officer was working in the previous 2 weeks, have been advised to ‘self-quarantine’.
Further action has been taken to disinfect the relevant areas of the Ministry and the quarters.
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