Early days of COVID-19 lockdown: An MO’s account
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Dr. Adikariwattage presenting his book to Dr. Anil Jasinghe. Pix by Priyanka Samaraweera
Dr. Dammika Adikariwattage’s Maradana lockdown experience during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic is the subject of two books ‘ Lockdown saha Nidahasa’ and ‘From Lockdown to Freedom’ launched recently.
Dr. Adikariwattage is the Medical Officer of Health D2B, Colombo Municipal Council and was in charge of the Maradana Immamal Aroos area which was the first area to be locked down in Colombo from April 3 to May 1 when a COVID death was reported. His experiences of handling the community and containing the spread of the deadly virus with the help of all the relevant authorities is the subject of these books.
He states that the President’s strong, strategic leadership, the formation of the National COVID-19 Control Centre led by the Army Commander, with the support of the Minister of Health, Director General of Health Services and other key officials was instrumental in successfully defusing a potentially volatile situation in a densely populated area in the capital city.
