Sri Lanka's UAE Embassy urges for new criteria in repatriation

COLOMBO (News1st): Sri Lanka's Embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is pushing for prioritized selection criteria when repatriating Sri Lankans after coronavirus cases in the South Asian island spiked due to overseas arrivals, officials said on Friday. "Our prioritized selection criteria for each repatriation flight will be on the basis of pregnant women, senior citizens, people with serious medical conditions who need urgent attention and other various categories such as terminated, resigned, unpaid leave expired visas," the Embassy said in a notice. The Embassy added that it is awaiting final approval from UAE's foreign ministry to implement these criteria. It also refuted claims that the assistance of an outside individual or organization has been sought to prepare the database and selection for repatriation. "We assure that the priority lists will be prepared only by the embassy and the consulate general office based on your registration," the notice read. Official figures show that 597 people who were repatriated from overseas have tested positive for COVID-19 in the country, accounting for 31.8 percent of the total cases, which stands at 1877.