Health guidelines for parliamentary poll to be gazetted

COLOMBO (News1st): The health ministry has said it would issue a gazette on Monday regarding the health guidelines that must be followed during the upcoming parliamentary elections. The national election commission (NEC) has fixed the date of the poll to August 5, after it was postponed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year's election would see voters and election officials being required to wear face masks and maintain physical distance, among several other health guidelines. The people must continue to adhere to quarantine laws while maintaining social distancing, director general of health services Dr. Anil Jasinghe said. He added that around 1000 navy personnel are currently undergoing quarantine. The health ministry has recorded 1950 coronavirus infections in the country, among which 1498 have recovered, and 11 have died, since the virus started spreading in the country on March 11.