41 civilians who were quarantined at the SLAF Quarantine Centre located at the National Hospital for Respiratory Diseases at Welisara were released today (22 May 2020). This Quarantine Centre operated by the Sri Lanka Air Force was established on the instructions of the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Sumangala Dias with the renovation of Wards 11 and 12 of the Welisara National Hospital. 39 of these civilians were from a private company in the Kerawalapitiya area while 2 were small scale merchants from the Narahenpita Area. The civilians belonged to more than 22 Police Divisions.

The entire operation of this Quarantine Centre is managed by the SLAF Trade Training School at Ekala under the guidance of the Commanding Officer of the School, Air Commodore Muditha Mahawattage. The medical staff attending to the civilians are from the SLAF Hospital in Colombo. The CBRNE Wing under the leadership of it Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Nilendra Perera continues to play a vital role in the management of the Centre to the expected sanitization standards.

To date 1377 personnel have been cared for and released from 5 SLAF Quarantine Centre’s located at, Iranamadu, Mullaitivu, Vanni, Palaly and Welisara.