The country has been under a curfew for nearly a month, necessitated by the need to protect the populace from the coronavirus pandemic, which has now caused more than 2.2 million infections and 150,000 deaths worldwide. Thanks to the swift measures spearheaded by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka has been spared the agony that many developed countries are now facing. The case numbers in Sri Lanka are still under 250, with only seven deaths. Only a few other countries can claim such a level of success.
Unlike many other countries that realised the danger of COVID-19 rather too late, the Government took a pro-active stance from the very beginning. It formed the Task Force headed by the Army Commander even before the first local case of infection was reported. Ever since, it has been in the forefront of the battle against the coronavirus. As the World Health Organization (WHO) noted, it was a “Whole of Government” approach that enabled Sri Lanka to stay “Ahead of the Curve”. All sectors – Health, Armed Forces, Police, Public Service and Essential Services - mobilized and worked as one to defeat the common enemy. While other countries are coming to grips with contact tracing, our intelligence units had even tracked down the third-tier contacts of infected persons, who in turn were swiftly quarantined.
There is no doubt at all that the almost continuous curfew and the inter-district travel ban had its desired effect. Although more than 30,000 curfew violators were nabbed by Police, at least 11 districts remain free of the coronavirus and some other districts have a very low count of patients. This has prevented what could have been a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions. All those who enforced this curfew deserve plaudits.
However, at some point of time Sri Lanka will have to emerge out of this predicament. With the entire country virtually at a standstill, the damage to the economy caused so far runs into perhaps billions of rupees, if not dollars. The Rupee has fallen making even essential imports more expensive and this cannot be immediately balanced by exports (which will get more rupees) because of the current restrictions in place. Daily wage earners have been hit hard and there is absolutely no income from sectors like railways and passenger transport. This cannot surely go on for more than a couple of months.
With a large part of the country showing no signs of the disease, we can see light at the end of the tunnel. Hence, there is widespread talk of an “Exit Strategy” for Sri Lanka and proposals have been forwarded by a raft of organisations ranging from the GMOA to the Business Chambers. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and others in the forefront of the battle against COVID-19 have also discussed possible post-disease economic and social scenarios. They have already envisioned a new economic climate post-COVID-19, with a firm focus on domestic production as opposed to dependence on imports of foods and other essential items.
An exit strategy is vital, because even countries still reeling from COVID-19 are talking about one. That is the only way to kick start the battered economy. But unlike those countries, we have the advantage of having kept the disease mostly at bay. However, one word of caution. Life is never going to be the same again, at least until a couple of years have passed with no sign of a second or even a third wave of the disease. This could perhaps be the “new normal” as many experts have pointed out.
This means that we have to practise social distancing and other measures for some more time. Whether social distancing is practical in our crowded public transport services and other places is a moot point, but we will somehow have to adapt. In any case, there is nothing wrong in practising hygiene measures such as frequent hand washing for life. The present measures, such as wash basins installed near banks, offices, must continue. The Government and health authorities must also be on guard against any subsequent waves of the disease and make frequent Public Service Announcements in this regard.
With regard to the raging debate in the mainstream and social media and also political circles regarding the possibility of holding the General Election, the Government, political parties and the Election Commission will have to reach a consensus on this matter. As pointed out by former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, there will be a Constitutional crisis if the General Election is not held on time. A minority Government cannot run the country for several more months without a Parliament to pass the necessary finances, a crucial factor in the present context. We simply cannot afford anarchy at a time like this when all resources have to be mobilized for the common goal of securing the health of the Nation.
We can look towards South Korea, which last week conducted one of the most successful elections held in any country under any circumstances. The authorities there put in place strict social distancing and hygiene measures before and during the elections. We too can learn some lessons from this exercise. For example, political leaders and candidates can address their voters through the electronic media without campaigning physically. We cannot postpone the franchise indefinitely and if this is the new normal, holding the polls with all safety measures in place could be the best option.