The PCR testing facility at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake was declared open today.
The new PCR testing facility paves the way for arrivals to undergo the PCR test within 3 hours.
The facility has a capacity of conducting 500 PCR tests per hour, with a total of 7000 tests during the course of one day.
Fully vaccinated passengers who receive a negative PCR test result at the facility will be permitted to immediately enter the country, without being subjected to mandatory quarantine.
Travellers will be charged US$ 40 per PCR test at the new facility.
Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said that testing will commence from this Saturday (25).
The PCR testing facility has been established at the airport to end the mandatory hotel quarantine process which was earlier introduced by the Government.
The mandatory hotel quarantine process which required passengers to stay at hotels until receiving the result of their PCR tests had led to an alleged hotel quarantine racket in the country recently.
As the hotel quarantine racket had been exposed by the local media, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had instructed authorities to introduce a system under which passengers received their PCR test results without being subjected to hotel quarantine. (NewsWire)
AASL- HOSPINORM LABORATORY LOUNGE DECLARED OPEN TODAY [ 23rd September 2021] #AASL #BIAsrilanka #CMB #VCBI #BandaranaikeInternationalAirport #SriLankaAirports #ColomboAirport #VisitSriLanka #SriLankaTourism #MakeHappyJourneys #SriLanka #lka pic.twitter.com/pLeOzxo8Ws
— Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) (@BIA_SriLanka) September 23, 2021
