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Crowds and events still the norm, despite Health DG’s instructions
People buying their food stocks Pic by Hiran Priyankara
A week after the Health Services Director General issuing Alert Level 3 warning to restrict activities and functions, people are yet to grasp the grim nature of the pandemic as jammed packed office trains, closed-door private parties, crowds at beaches and clothing shops filling with Ramadan shoppers’ are still the norm.
The Health Service DG prohibited all kinds of parties, events, gatherings, carnivals, musical shows, and beach parties and advised for all pubs, bars, night clubs, casinos, cinemas and theatres to be closed. He also permitted only 50 percent of the total capacity in hotels and guest houses, and allowed only 25 percent of total capacity in restaurants.
“These measures have led the country’s entertainment and hospitality industry to come to a complete standstill. Only when we thought we could recover last year’s losses, this whole New Year cluster emerged. Most of the hotels out of Colombo, have been attracting local tourists since earlier this year. Now there are no local and foreign tourists anywhere,” said Hotels Association President Sanath Ukwatte.
Deserted restaurants
Mr Ukwatte told the Sunday Times, that while imposing these restrictions, the Government should accelerate vaccinating people against the virus.
“There are three million people who are directly and indirectly involved in the hospitality sector. We requested the Government to waive off interest on loans obtained since 2019 and assist in paying staff salaries. Most of the moratoriums are expiring this September and we want it to be extended,” he said.
“The entertainment sector suffered a huge blow with these restrictions on outdoor events, parties, gatherings, musical shows and carnivals. From singers and bands to music directors, everyone involved in the entertainment sector is going through a rough time with barely any income,” said Ajantha Peiris a member of the Sri Lanka Singers Association.
The Health DG has only allowed buses and trains to run with seated passengers. No passengers are allowed to travel while standing and social distancing protocol is expected to be followed quite strictly.
With the Sri Lanka Railways Association limiting the number of long distance trains due to a shortage of commuters this week, those using the train services daily were highly inconvenienced. While both Government and private sector employees were told to operate with minimum staff, during office hours trains and buses attracted crowds and passengers with no social distance maintained.
Weddings are not permitted till May 20 and so are conferences, seminars, meetings and brand launches.
Charm de Silva, a wedding planner, said their income has drizzled to almost nothing and they are running on savings.
“Destination weddings have been cancelled as there is no hope of travelling and organising a wedding overseas. Foreign clients have cancelled bookings. Even some local weddings have been cancelled or postponed. There are clients who have postponed several times. Most couples are just getting registered and are planning to have a reception later,” she said.
Police and Navy patrol teams were seen warning people about using masks, while in some areas such as Pettah and Jaffna, extreme measures, such as forcefully dragging away those who fail to wear masks, were taken.
With the Ramadan festival nearing, textile shops are attracting crowds despite the Health DG allowing only 25 percent of the total number of customers in the shops. The Health DG had also requested for shop owners to maintain a 1.5 square metre of walking space for each person.
Supermarkets, shopping malls, financial institutions, courts, gymnasiums, indoor sports halls, dining in restaurants, bakery, barber and beauty salons, communications, hardware stores, laundry, furniture shops, tailors and dressmakers have been told to limit their customers to 25 percent of the capacity of their premises.
According to the Health DG’s instructions, funerals (except COVID-19 deaths) should be held within 24 hours after the dead body was released from the hospital or the inquirer into sudden deaths. He said all possible precautions should be taken to minimise the number of people attending a funeral. Only a maximum of 25 people can attend at any given time.
Festival shopping Pix by M A Pushpa Kumara
Lockdowns and isolations continue Pix by Indika Handuwala