Sri Lanka's government on Friday ordered public sector employees to work from home for two weeks due to severe fuel shortages as the island nation grapples with its worst financial turmoil in seven decades.
Sri Lanka is scrambling to find foreign exchange to pay for desperately needed fuel imports, and its existing stock of petrol and diesel is projected to run out in a matter of days, reports Reuters.
A combination of government mismanagement and the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed the country of 22 million people into its deepest economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.
"Taking into consideration the severe limits on fuel supply, the weak public transport system and the difficulty in using private vehicles this circular allows minimal staff to report to work from Monday," the Public Administration and Home Affairs Ministry said on Friday.
Of its approximately one million government employees, those providing essential services like healthcare will continue to report for duty at their offices, the circular said.