Army Commander Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva said that there are no plans to lock down the country for the upcoming Christmas.

It was widely speculated among some circles that the government would impose a strict lockdown before the festive season to limit the movement of the public during the Christmas holidays.

The Army Commander said there were no plans to impose lockdowns unless there are new clusters. "We must remember that COVID19 is a virus," he added.

There are some areas and housing complexes that remain under lockdown at this point. "We will continue to monitor the situation in those areas as well," he added.

The Army Commander said the lockdown status of eight housing complexes were listed during the last two days. Despite measures to ease lockdowns, Sri Lanka has not seen progress thus far on reducing new cases.