Sri Lanka's ruling party called off its rallies ahead of upcoming parliamentary elections and delayed the international airport's reopening over a surge in virus cases, according to AFP.

The South Asian country of 21 million lifted its coronavirus lockdown in late June after declaring there was no longer any community spread of the virus.

But a swathe of cases emerged last week, including an outbreak at a drug rehabilitation centre last week that saw 253 patients test positive in a single night.