Kumar Sangakkara has confirmed he is currently in self-quarantine in Colombo, as per the Sri Lanka government's guidelines for those who have recently returned from Europe, reports ESPNCricinfo.
He made the revelation amids substantial concerns that those who have recently returned to the island have not been checking in with the police and maintaining proper isolation. In fact, the government even confirmed there have been at least three cases of recent returnees attempting to hide COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) symptoms from authorities, with one of those returnees going as far as to expose medical staff - among others - in a local hospital.
"I have no symptoms or anything like that, but I'm following government guidelines," Sangakkara told News First on Sunday. "I arrived from London over a week ago and the first thing was there was a news bulletin saying that anyone who had traveled from within March 1 to 15 should register themselves with the police and undergo self quarantine. I registered myself with the police."
Both Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have been active on Twitter and Instagram, urging Sri Lankans to avoid panic and to exercise proper social distancing, as the country went into curfew on Friday evening. Several present cricketers have also emphasised the need for social distancing on their own social-media accounts.
As of Sunday afternoon, Sri Lanka had 78 active COVID-19 cases in the country. There are fears, however, that that number could shoot up rapidly, as there had been potential mass-infection events over the past 10 days. This includes the "Big Match" cricket encounter between St. Thomas' College and Royal College last weekend, which attracted tens of thousands of spectators over three days, one of whom has since been confirmed to have contracted COVID-19.
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