All 80 Malaysians, mostly tourists stranded in Sri Lanka due to flight cancellations and travel restrictions imposed to contain COVID-19, have approached the Malaysian High Commission in Colombo, Sri Lanka for various assistance.

The High Commission said it has been updating Malaysians on information regarding visa extension and flight availability as well as assisting with food, accommodation and transportation ever since the introduction of a nationwide curfew in Sri Lanka on March 20.

"As of April 9, there are 80 Malaysians stranded in Sri Lanka and majority of them are tourists.

"The High Commission is coordinating the evacuation plan with Wisma Putra as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka to get all the necessary approval (to bring the Malaysians back home)," it said in a reply statement to Bernama.

The statement said that the Sri Lankan Government and the authorities have given their full cooperation to the High Commission thus far in facilitating the evacuation of the stranded Malaysians.

"We would like to advise our fellow Malaysians to be patient. Help is on the way. Under the current situation, we are doing our level best to help each and everyone who needed our assistance," it added.

-- BERNAMA