COVID-19 did not reach stage four (4) in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan people should maintain social distancing and follow the instructions issued by the Health Ministry for a few more months even after the curfew is lifted, in order to avoid the spread of COVID- 19. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is working hard, even at the risk of getting infected, Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said.
She said people should keep a distance of at least one metre from each other all the time and wash hands with soap or a germ killer often. The ICUs and mortuaries in other countries of the world are overflowing, while 15 percent of the health staff in those countries have got infected. But Sri Lanka is doing very well. The Minister was addressing the daily media briefing of the National Operation Centre for the Prevention of Covid-19 in Colombo yesterday.
Minister Wanniarachchi said that Sri Lanka is reaching the 30th day of COVID-19 and stands in this highly successful position due to the commitment of the President and the Prime Minister to focus first on the wellbeing of the people so that we are able to stop the coronavirus spreading in society and contain it to the quarantine. But the US gave priority to the economy no matter how many dead bodies got collected. Sri Lanka did not follow the common strategies adopted by other countries which failed to control COVID-19.
However, we cannot keep the country under lockdown forever. I feel it is time to gradually lift the curfew, recommence our economic activities and get back on our feet, now that we have successfully contained the spread of the virus.”
She said however, the Government took a firm decision to focus on the health and wellbeing of the people first and thereafter focus on rebuilding the economy. Had the Government not taken this decision, many citizens would have died on the streets due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Sri Lankan garment factories can produce Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for all other countries in the world and export them because those countries have fallen into a very weak position today due to COVID-19. But Sri Lanka has saved her human resource, she said.
All Sri Lankans waiting to return to the country will be brought back after emptying the Quarantine Centres and further strengthening those centres, she added.