State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasumana said the health sector is still managing the Covid-19 pandemic with great difficulties. This is a serious situation and there are many difficulties faced by the health sector.
The State Minister in an interview with the Sunday Observer, said, however, we should appreciate the contribution by the doctors, nurses and all other healthcare workers as they are doing their best. Prof. Jayasumana said the health sector has exhausted due to the pandemic. Therefore, we desperately need the support of the Tri Forces. They have extended their support to the maximum possible level. All Sri Lankans should appreciate the contribution by the Sri Lankan Tri Forces to control the pandemic.
Excerpts
Q: Medical experts say the spread of the Delta variant has rapidly increased throughout the country. Your comments?
A: Actually, we were expecting this situation from the beginning of July. We were well aware Delta is becoming the dominant variant throughout the world. We mentioned that no nation excludes this scenario. Almost all nations need to face this situation. So, we were prepared to face the scourge of the Delta attack during the first week of August. In a couple of days, there was a difficulty in managing the patients at hospital level. There was some accumulation of bodies at mortuaries. But within two to three days, the health sector managed the situation. At the moment, we are quite all right with the management, but still we don’t not underestimate the situation. We are expecting more patients and deaths during the next couple of weeks. We had the correct estimation.
Q: The Association of Medical Specialists requests the Government to either impose strict travel restrictions or lockdown the country to control the spread of the new Delta variant. Is there any possibility of doing so?
A: We are taking the situation seriously. It is not only the Medical Specialist Association, different parties have given their thoughts, inputs and suggestions. We are seriously considering all these suggestions.
This Medical Specialists’ Association is not the dominant doctors’ association in the country. It represents the minority of the medical personnel in the country. It seems some top office bearers of this association have a political agenda.
We are taking their opinion carefully. When we analyse some suggestions by them over the past three to four months, it seems there were some political motives behind their suggestions.
Q: Some say the situation at grassroots level is crucial and the country is in a very critical stage of the coronavirus. Your comments?
A: This is the nature of the Delta variant. It spreads fast. Severity of the disease is also high compared to the previous situation. This is a double attack. The new variant is spreading throughout the country and we are trying to minimise it. We are trying our best to manage the Covid-19 patients at hospitals.
Q: As a country, are we successful in controlling the Covid-19 pandemic at this juncture?
A: It is too early to comment on it. Because we are on a wave due to the Delta variant of the coronavirus. We saw the scourge in the US, UK, Italy, Russia, India and Indonesia. We don’t know at what level we are at the moment. This may be the beginning of the Delta wave or middle of the Delta wave.
Q: Is there any truth in the allegation that the health sector has exceeded its capacity to face the situation?
A: There were social media reports which said there were many patients in the corridors at hospitals, patients were waiting outside the hospitals and mortuaries were filled with bodies. There was such a situation in the first week of August. But within two to three days, the health sector managed the situation.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa instructed me to visit those hospitals and see whether there is any problem and address such issues as early as possible. I visited Kalubowila, Ragama and Homagama hospitals. What the medical specialists, consultant doctors and nurses informed me was that there was a problem on the first two days of the scourge, but they managed the situation within 48 to 72 hours. The Ministry of Health has introduced a homecare system to sort out the issue.
At the time I visited, there were no patients in the corridors at Kalubowila, Ragama and Homagama hospitals. They have managed the situation well. But the number of patients dependent on Oxygen is high. The severity of the disease is also very high. Children are also getting infected with the virus. The number of deaths as a percentage is high. Still the health sector is managing the situation with great difficulties. This is a serious condition. There are many difficulties faced by the health sector. However, we should appreciate the contribution by the doctors, nurses and all other healthcare workers as they are doing their best.
Q: What led to significantly increased Covid-19 deaths during the last couple of weeks?
A: The main reason is the nature of the Delta variant. It severely attacks and lung tissues are more damaged. Sometimes, consultants say lung fibrosis is also there. Difficulty in breathing is a prominent feature. The duration of the patients dependent on Oxygen is also high. This Delta variant of the virus is more damaging rather than previous versions of the virus. This is the reason for the higher number of deaths. We observe that the people who are not vaccinated are more vulnerable to the disease. If someone has taken both doses of the vaccine, they are quite safe although they are elders.
Q: Has any decision been taken to convert all hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients?
A: No such decision has been made yet, but the treatment centres will be expanded. There are subspecialised units at General Hospitals and Base Hospitals such as ENT units and neurology units. In certain places, the routine procedures are being practised there. Instead of these routine procedures, we can acquire those wards, doctors and other medical staff and admit Covid-19 patients to those wards. That is how the situation is managed in other countries as well.
We are expanding facilities at General Hospitals and Base hospitals. In addition, certain new facilities are converted as Covid-19 treatment centres. However, all hospitals are not declared as Covid-19 centres.
Because we have a well-developed system to transfer patients to these Covid-19 treatment centres.
We are a small country and have a well expanded hospital system throughout the country. We also have a good transport system. There no need to convert all the hospitals into Covid-19 treatment centres. We can manage the situation with hospitals which are declared as Covid-19 hospitals. We are expanding them.
Q: Over 45,000 children have tested positive for Covid-19. This is a rapid increase in the number of children infected with the virus. Could you explain?
A: The number of children infected with the disease is dramatically high compared to the previous versions of the virus. This Delta variant can harm children. If those children are normal, the severity of the disease is minimal. If a child has some other genetic disorder and cardiac issue, then he is more vulnerable to the disease. Unless they are having some other complications, the children are quite safe. The mortality rate of the children is very low.
Q: A large number of people who have taken two doses of the vaccine have also tested positive for Covid-19. Would you like to elaborate on this?
A: Only 23 people who have taken both doses of the vaccine have died due to Covid-19. All these 23 had some other comorbidity either they are kidney transplanted, chronic kidney disease or uncontrolled diabetes. Such a comorbidity existed in all those 23 people who died even after obtaining the two doses of the vaccine. However, if someone who has taken the two doses of the vaccine is tested positive for the Covid-19, the severity of the disease is significantly low.
Q: Has the Government taken steps to collect the data of the people who have not received even a single dose of the Covid-19 vaccine?
A: With the help of Grama Niladharis and the Police, we are collecting the data of the people who have not been vaccinated yet. Especially someone who is above 60 years is not vaccinated due to some reason, we are searching what are the reasons for him to evade vaccination. We urgently address all these issues. We are completing the vaccination of the population above 60 years.
Q:WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has commended Sri Lanka’s inoculation drive against the Coronavirus pandemic. Your comments?
A: We were prepared for the Delta scourge. That is why we expedited vaccination from the second week of July to early August. If you take the past six weeks, our vaccination program was potentially expanded. If you take the world figures in certain days, we were top in the world ranking. We have done an extensive vaccination program throughout the country. That was appreciated by many countries and many international organisations including the WHO.
Because the President attended to this matter and requested other World Leaders to send us vaccines as early as possible, we got a huge number of Sinopharm vaccines from China. It was one of the major reasons for the success of our vaccination program.
We have received 14.7 million doses of Sinopharm vaccines from China. We have completed the vaccination of almost 95 percent of the population above 30 years. We need to find out the places where the people are not vaccinated due to various reasons. We have detected that certain people are not vaccinated due to certain religious beliefs. Some elderly people are not vaccinated due to immobilisation. We immediately address these issues. Certain people were not happy to take the vaccine due to the fear psychosis created by social media. We educated them and asked them to take the vaccine. We are not forcefully vaccinating anybody. If someone is not vaccinated due to their religious belief, still we respect their right. But as a general message, we request all Sri Lankans to get the vaccine without further delay.
Q: Do you think that the people who disregarded the health guidelines have led to the spread of the disease countrywide?
A: The protest wave created by certain trade union leaders reduced the fear of the people towards the disease. They helped to generalise the condition. Over the past 18 months, there was some fear among the people for the disease. When the Delta variant of the virus was spreading, these trade union leaders brought their members to the roads to stage protests. It underestimated the severity of the disease and minimised the risk. The risk assessment of the people was downgraded due to their activities. The people neglected the disease. More attention was given to their trade union demands rather than the disease. It contributed to a certain extent to spread the disease.