The government of Sri Lanka has delayed the opening of the nation’s borders again.

With the number of COVID-19 cases on the rise again, Sri Lankan authorities have decided make the precautionary measures even stricter than before.

Sri Lanka had announced the reopening of its borders twice before being cancelled each time. With the cases rising, Sri Lanka has delayed their border reopening set for 1 August as well.

The Sri Lankan Minister of Transport and Aviation, Prasanna Ranatunga said that they cannot give a date for reopening at this time. He said that the top priority of the government right now is to stop the spread of COVID-19 and bring back its citizens abroad.

Sri Lankan Government has previously said that they would make a decision on resuming commercial flights when all of its citizens abroad have been brought back.

A total of 2646 cases of COVID-19 have been found in Sri Lanka so far with 11 deaths connected to the illness.