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President seeks public support to curtail pandemic
View(s):President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has urged the public to extend support to the government’s initiatives and regulations as part of collective and urgent measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as the number of positive cases continues to rise in the country.
In an address that was telecasted through a private television station, President Rajapaksa reiterated that the government had formulated a Task Force with relevant stakeholders for this purpose, and along with them, the Tri-Forces, Public Health Inspectors, Grama Niladari and Police were deployed islandwide to carry out activities to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
“At this moment, we must minimise all possibilities of this virus from entering and spreading through the country. We have already identified what needs to be done and have put these measures into action. We have empowered the Task Force accordingly,” President Rajapaksa said.
Stressing that as a country we have faced and won over challenges before, he added that “we are ready to face the challenges. What we need is unity. Therefore, I ask people to act with responsibility,”
President Rajapaksa also requested Sri Lankans who returned from other countries to act responsibly and cooperate with healthcare officials with regard to the self-quarantine process.
“The reason to give a special holiday was to minimise the spread of the virus. To ensure this, I request you to avoid travel, gathering as a group and from celebrations and parties. By adhering to these instructions along with the steps we had taken, we will be able to completely control this situation,” the President noted, while emphasising that some citizens failed to comply with government regulations on mandatory quarantine.
He also indicated that the biggest challenge at the moment is the travellers, almost 2,000 in number, who had entered the country from high risk countries about two weeks before the government started the quarantine process on March 10.
President Rajapaksa also pointed out how the current situation in the country might impact the economy, the cost of living and sectors such as agriculture, and assured that the government had taken adequate steps to address them.