As Thursday marked 100 days since the WHO was notified of the first cases of “pneumonia with unknown cause” in China, Sri Lanka also entered into the 6th week of successful management of COVID-19. From March 11 the day the first Sri Lankan COVID-19 patient was identified, the country has so far detected 190 cases (as of Friday evening) with 7 deaths. Compared to its South Asian neighbours and many other countries, irrespective of their financial or military power, Sri Lanka is still in a safe zone in controlling the new coronavirus, health authorities said.
Of 48 Asian countries, Sri Lanka is at number 36 in terms of the total number of cases, while the COVID-19 spread in the country is still marked as the transmission of ‘cluster of cases’, according to the transmission classification of the WHO. However, many highly affected countries such as the United States, Italy and Spain are experiencing ‘community transmission’ which worsens the situation day by day.
COVID-19 curfew goes on…
The curfew imposed in the high-risk districts, i.e. Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Puttalam, Kandy, Jaffna and certain areas in Ratnapura (Ratnapura and Pelmadulla police divisions) which have been identified as High-Risk Zones will continue until further notice. In all other districts, curfew will be lifted from time to time and re-imposed on the same day. During these curfew periods travelling to and from all districts has been completely prohibited except for essential services.
In the dawn of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, the Government emphasizes the need to limit traditions and associations during the festive time to members of the family within one’s home. People who misuse the regulations introduced with the sole objective of ensuring the efficient functioning of essential services will be severely dealt with according to the curfew law, Police media division announced last week.
To minimise disturbances to the general public, the Government has strengthened the mechanism to supply essential food items and other goods, enabling the people to purchase them while in their homes.
Food Supply
As rice production, storage and distribution are imperative to ensure food security, the Government on Friday declared the services of all rice millers in the country as an essential service.
In terms of this directive, rice mill owners must produce rice using the paddy stocks in their possession. Under the instructions of the President, the Secretary to the President P. B. Jayasundara had informed the authorities to take all measures to enable small scale rice mill owners to distribute their rice stocks within their respective Divisional Secretariat Divisions, medium scale owners to distribute within the district and large scale owners to distribute in the entire country.
As per Government stats, a harvest of around 3 million metric tons of paddy has been reaped so far and the quantity of rice that can be produced is equivalent to 2/3 of that amount. At a special meeting chaired by both President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, last week, a representative of the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) assured that the PMB currently has a stock of 50,000 MT paddy in their registries, which can produce up to 30 million kilos of rice.
In a brief interview with the Sunday Observer, Food Commissioner, (Mrs) J. Krishnamurthi assured that there will be no scarcity of essential food items such as rice, dhal, Bombay onions, canned fish and vegetable despite the prevailing situation.
“Normally, SATHOSA purchases food items from us and then distributes to their outlets island-wide. As an exception, we have now distributed all essential food items to all District Secretariats, where the main delivery of essential food takes place currently” she said.
President meets Health experts
Meanwhile, a meeting between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and medical experts representing various fields was held at the Presidential Secretariat, on Thursday. The purpose of the meeting was to obtain the much needed expert medical opinion on how to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the country promptly.
While reviewing the steps already taken by the Government, measures that should be taken in the future to prevent the spread of coronavirus were discussed in detail. The specialists brought to the President’s attention the importance of conducting investigations on groups that were in close contact with infected persons and who have had contacts in two stages further.
In a bid to broaden the testing procedure, the President instructed the health authorities to take necessary steps to acquire more test kits to face any situation, despite having sufficient coronavirus test kits at present. Extending assistance to Sri Lanka’s fight against the pandemic, 40,000 COVID-19 test units were due to reach the country by Friday night. It includes a donation of 20,000 test units from the world-famous Chinese entrepreneur and Founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma.
The group of specialists also admired the quarantine program launched to prevent the spread of the virus. They highlighted that people with diabetes, asthma and heart diseases need to be more vigilant and the importance of abstaining from smoking.
Public donations
Responding to the request of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, many individuals, celebrities, private companies and public workers have donated a large sum to the COVID – 19 Healthcare and Social Security Fund amounting to Rs. 609 million as of Friday evening.
Minister Chamal Rajapaksa also handed over a donation of Rs.25 million collected by the Essential Food Commodities Importers & Traders Association. The President of Sri Lanka Cricket, Shammi Silva, Sri Lanka cricket captain Dimuth Karunaratne and cricketer Lasith Malinga handed over a donation of Rs.25 million collected by Sri Lanka Cricket to the President.
Minister Ramesh Pathirana handed over a donation of Rs. 7 million collected by the staff of the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Export Agriculture and affiliated institutions to the Ministry.
Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd., Public Officers’ Welfare Association, Irrigation Engineering Diplomate Association, Kalutara Bodhi Trust Fund, Association of University Administrators, Immigration and Emigration Officers’ Association, Public Finance Department, employees of the Ministry of Defence, Sri Lanka Police Department and National Youth Services Council were among the other institutes and organisations who contributed to the fund.
All the donations will be credited to the special account No. 85737373 at the Corporate Branch of the Bank of Ceylon. (Further details can be obtained from K.B. Egodawele, Director General (Administration) of the Presidential Secretariat, on telephone number 011 2 35 44 79).
Meanwhile, a delegation from the European Union (EU) and Ambassadors of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania met the head of Special Presidential Task Force for Essential Services, former Minister Basil Rajapaksa last week to discuss the support the EU can extend towards Sri Lanka’s battle against COVID-19. Member states of the EU agreed to provide 22 million euros worth donations to Sri Lanka. This includes medical equipment, supplies and financial assistance to the agriculture and tourism sectors which expects a challenging time in the post-COVID period. The EU funding will majorly focus on small businesses and workers in the Central and Uva Provinces.
Economy
Managing Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva announced last week that the world would experience the worst economic fallout since the ‘Great Depression’ in the 1930s. Showing early signs of the impact to the local economy, the Sri Lankan Rupee further depreciated last week passing Rs. 200 against the US dollar for the first time in history. PwC, an independent research institution, issuing a special report claimed that despite the actions taken by regulators, the Sri Lankan Rupee would experience further pressure.
“Hence adequate lines of foreign funding should be sought to manage short term pressures on the currency. In the long term, a strong export base and sustainable FDIs will be critical for a strong currency. Export industries in our view should be provided TAX-FREE status for a considerable length of time to attract investment, create employment and generate foreign exchange” it stated.
The report further pointed out the importance of preparedness of declining tourism significantly in comparison to the revenue generated in 2019. Tourism earning in 2018 reached USD 4.3bn while the previous year earnings were barely USD 3.6bn, as a result of the Easter attacks.