So far 146 Sri Lankans have died due to the rapidly spreading Covid 19 epidemic around the world. Most of the deaths were from migrant Sri Lankans, with 98 reported deaths. The death toll in Sri Lanka so far is 48.
Most of the deaths abroad are reported to be from Middle Eastern countries. Thirty-five Sri Lankans have died in Saudi Arabia, 21 in Kuwait, 10 in the United Arab Emirates and six in Qatar.
Lalith Primalal, who lives in Saudi Arabia, told Lankadeepa that although countries such as India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Philippines have taken steps to repatriate their citizens from the Middle East, more than a thousand Sri Lankans are still stranded in Sri Lanka.
He said several planes had recently arrived in Saudi Arabia but were unable to land due to high fares. Many companies have already issued departure visas, so if you have to stay there without a plane, you will have to pay more than 600,000 to renew your visa.
The death toll from the epidemic in Sri Lanka has been very low but is now rising rapidly. As on October 31, only 20 deaths from Kovid had been reported from Sri Lanka and today the number has increased to 48 and 28 deaths have been reported in the last 12 days. Five deaths per day were reported in the last two days alone.