BEAT C: SRI LANKA’S RESPONSE TO COVID-19
Executive Summary
Spreading of COVID-19 pandemic in the world is continuing and different countries have employed different ways and means to combat the spreading. Many researches and scientific studies have been done, yet, no credible vaccine has been developed to date. In absence of such, prevention and containment are considered as the best available option.
Sri Lanka is a country which has state-funded healthcare system having expertise in managing deadly diseases, eliminating malaria and polio, successfully fighting against H1N1, Chikungunya and substantially containing Dengue. As stated by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Sri Lankan health service is one of the best not only in Asia but in the world.
Sri Lankan government reacted swiftly to the early warnings of the Coronavirus by creating expert teams, immediate quarantining measures to those who were in contact and tracing the movements of tourists and other locals who came back to Sri Lanka from abroad who were suspected to be carrying the disease. Process adopted by Sri Lankan government since its first local case on 11 March 2020 to date in controlling the spread of COVID-19 is akin to ‘Hammer and Dance’ theory by Tomas Pueyo. The Sri Lankan government’s approach was focusing on using various aggressive proactive measures (Hammer) in anticipating spikes of cases and bring the spread of virus under controllable level (Dance) so that the health sector can handle the case load without exhaust.
The president created national action committee and task forces especially for combatting COVID-19 and also for other essential services. Sri Lanka is in the forefront among the few countries that established a task force to tackle this global health threat. He ensured that economic and trading activities as well as other essential services are being carried out uninterrupted. Sri Lanka was the first south Asian country to impose a nationwide lockdown after the WHO had declared COVID-19 as a global pandemic on 11th March 2020.
The coronavirus outbreak has brought the world to a standstill. With businesses around the world shutting shop, the economy taking a severe hit and most countries being in lockdown However, While the medical community including doctors, nurses and the medical staff who are fighting this disease on the frontlines and are putting their lives at risk to keep us safe, it is important that we adhere to the guidelines imposed by the government and make our contributions to up bring the national economy.