State Minister of Money and Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms, Ajith Nivard Cabraal said that Sri Lanka cannot afford a lockdown due to economic reasons.
He said the country must be kept open since long-term economic damage will be widespread.
Cabraal stated in his official twitter account that macro fundamentals will be seriously compromised while 4.5 million in small and medium scale businesses will face serious consequences.
Half of the population will not be able to face the fallout of a lockdown, although he acknowledged the need to impose strict health restrictions to contain the spread of the novel Coronavirus. He said, “Strict health restrictions may be imposed, but the country must be kept open and functioning.”
Earlier, the State Minister said that it is imperative to open the country on August 30 as the country cannot bear the economic loss of around Rs. 150 billion that will be incurred during the ten-day lockdown.
He said that when the Covid-19 pandemic was spreading rapidly, economists said that such a closure would cause a serious loss to the GDP.