Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe says that starting from today all passengers arriving from South Korea will undergo special inspection and will be under observation for 14 days.
He noted that accordingly 246 passengers who arrived in the island in an aircraft belonging to the Korean airlines early this morning were inspected.
Meanwhile South Korea raised its alert on the coronavirus to the highest level today after reporting three more deaths and 169 new infections.
The national toll of 602 cases is now the highest outside China, apart from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.
Furthermore in Italy which has a large Sri Lankan population, 10 towns including Padua, Cremona and Lodi have been closed down due to rapid spread of covid-19.
Cases of the new coronavirus in Italy, the most affected country in Europe, rose to nearly 80 yesterday, killing two people.
Covid-19 has infected over 78,000 people across 30 countries. The death toll has increased to 2461.