Columns

As predicted by many including medical personnel and scientists the world over, the COVID-19 pandemic does not show signs of going away easily. The Sri Lankan experience is no different to the rest of the world with health authorities continuously taking steps to curb the spread of the virus.

While the first wave of the virus was controlled reasonably well, the country has not fared too well in battling the second and third waves. It would serve the Government and country well if lessons could be learned from the successes achieved in the first wave and the comparative lack of success in the second and third waves.

However there does not seem to be any signs of the Government reviewing or evaluating the various aspects of managing the pandemic. The “Api thamai hondatama kale” or “We are the ones who did it best” mindset seems to preclude any possibility of such a self evaluation of the process.

People are unable to engage in a comprehensive evaluation of the process because of the lack of transparency. They are left to make their assessments based on whatever is revealed through the media without being able to make a holistic evaluation because of the lack of information in the public domain.

For example a few of the key figures involved in managing the first wave like Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Dr. Paba Palihawadana and Dr. Jayaruwan Perera have been completely sidelined and they are missing in action. There is no evidence to suggest they are even invited to participate and contribute to discussions at the COVID task force meetings. Apart from their own individual areas of expertise, the experience gathered by them during the first wave would have been invaluable in responding to the second and third waves.

The Government’s reluctance to impose lockdowns is understandable in view of the impact on the fragile economy. However daunting the challenges faced by the Government in managing the economy, the peoples’ health has to take precedence and Government cannot shy away from such measures whenever it is necessary.

In the event a lockdown has to be imposed it is also incumbent upon the Government to ensure the basic needs of the people, particularly those of the poor and marginalised.

It is likely the Government’s failure to impose a lockdown just prior to the Sinhala and Tamil New Year when thousands go to the villages could have contributed to the virus spreading. With news that the Delta variant, which spreads faster than the original virus, causing concern in medical circles, it may also have been a mistake not to have imposed a lockdown during the past week with the Haj festival, the Poya day and the long weekend creating conditions for increased movement and interaction between people.

In fact the last lockdown was imposed only after a reluctant Government was put under considerable pressure by several medical organisations including the Sri Lanka Medical Association.  In fact, Sri Lanka Medical Association President Padma Gunaratne, has warned that the country is on the verge of the fourth wave although the Government seems to think otherwise.

Some of the Government’s current actions in handling the pandemic are also somewhat baffling. Universally the basic health guidelines require physical distancing, washing of hands, wearing masks and not gathering in large numbers.

In such a context the wisdom of permitting 150 guests at weddings may be questionable. Invariably such occasions will spill over into larger numbers where there is not likely to be  a great deal of physical distancing. Another place where the gathering of large numbers sans physical distancing is seen is at vaccination centres (other than those manned by the Army). Yet another instance where people are almost compelled to jostle with each other is public transport. Even on days when restricted numbers are allowed to report for work, public transport has been grossly inadequate and the sight of people crowding to board buses is a common sight.

The initial delay in obtaining vaccinations has been also a weak point in Government’s management of the pandemic. However with the increase in the number of vaccines being brought into the country, the vaccination process seems to be speeding up. The Government’s decision to enlist the services of the Army in the vaccination process is a smart one. It has not only hastened the process but also enabled the Government to ease the workload of the health sector which has been taxed to the maximum.

What is of most concern however is the mass protests that are currently taking place which may have the unintended effect of undermining attempts to curb the spread of the virus. In this matter both the Government and the protestors have to act wisely in the national interest.

The Government for its part should not take a confrontational approach and attempt to suppress such protests forcibly. Two of the issues that have caused an upheaval among the education sector enabling mass mobilisations that contravene health guidelines are the demand among teachers that their salary anomalies be addressed and the opposition to the Kotelawala National Defence University (KNDU) Bill.

Minister Bandula Gunawardena has said the Government is unable to give teachers a pay hike now because of the economic crisis. If that be the case the Government could request the teachers unions to put the protests on hold and negotiate and come to an agreement on the salary anomaly issue, but agree to a timeline of delayed payments.

The other hot issue is the KDU Amendment Bill. Clearly there is no urgency with regard to this Bill and the Government should withdraw the Bill to be put forward for consideration when times are better.

What if the negotiations on the salary anomalies fail? In such an event teachers could resume their protests but in a more “conforming to health guidelines” manner. Here the teachers unions could take a lesson from the farmers protests.

The farmers have been expressing their concerns on the fertiliser issues maintaining their social distancing and conforming to health guidelines. When the farmers who are part of the informal sector can do so, it will not be beyond the teachers unions, who belong to the organised working class, to resort to their campaign of winning their demands while conforming to health guidelines.

(javidyusuf@gmail.com)