Lebanon to conduct free PCR tests for returning Sri Lankans

COLOMBO (News 1st): Lebanon has agreed to conduct free PCR tests for COVID-19 before the repatriation of Sri Lankans, the foreign ministry said on Saturday. The matter had figured during a meeting between Sri Lankan Ambassador Shani Karunaratne and Lebanon's labour minister Lamia Yammine on June 1, the ministry said in a statement. "(The) ambassador requested assistance from Lebanon to conduct the PCR test on a free of charge basis enabling the Embassy to prepare for the returnees to leave," the statement read. Following the meeting, Lebanon's labour ministry had informed that the PCR test will be done at a subsidized fee of 20 US dollars and had subsequently scrapped off the fee on June 4. "As the numbers on the list of returnees are growing, the Lebanese decision saves a sizeable amount of funds to the government of Sri Lanka," the ministry added. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, during a recent meeting, had explored the possibility of conducting PCR tests on passengers arriving in Sri Lanka at the point of departure.