The Ministry of Foreign Relations has requested permission from Chinese officials to land a SriLankan Airlines plane in Wuhan, China to repatriate a group of Sri Lankan students who are under a mandatory lockdown in the coronavirus hit regions.
Issuing a statement, the Foreign Ministry officials said relevant documents were handed over to Chinese authorities by officials at the Sri Lankan embassy in Beijing, yesterday.
A total of 32 Sri Lankan students and their family members are scheduled to be brought back to the country.
The Ministry said, the plane will land in Wuhan as soon as it receives the clearance in order to facilitate the repatriation of Sri Lankans.
No Sri Lankan has been infected by the deadly coronavirus thus far.
Meanwhile, the government has urged Sri Lankans to avoid non-essential travels to virus-hit regions including to 15 Chinese districts.
Minister of Foreign Relations Dinesh Gunawardena has also requested Sri Lankans to exercise caution when travelling to other cities in China.