The Government is considering the possibility of easing the month long islandwide curfew from this week. Minister of Health, Pavithra Wanniarachchi informed media last week that this is being considered as the National Operation Centre on COVID-19 has been successful in detecting all local clusters of the pandemic. This announcement from the subject Minister is something people were anxiously waiting to hear for weeks, no doubt.
The Minister’s remarks were also embolden by the fact that Sri Lanka has so far been successful in preventing a mass scale COVID-19 outbreak, compared to many other countries in the West and elsewhere worldwide. In this backdrop, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa also instructed Secretaries of Cabinet Ministries to take immediate moves to restart gradually, the affairs of both state and private sectors in a bid to protect the national economy.
What are the safety concerns of the general public in a post-curfew situation? The Sunday Observer strived to find answers.
Industries to commence soon
The Minister of Industrial Exports and Investment Promotion, Prasanna Ranatunge said the Cabinet has decided to re-open industries across the island, except for the ones located in the six high-risk districts of, Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Puttalam, Jaffna and Kandy. It is certain as many international agencies such as the World Bank and IMF have already warned about a severe economic downturn in the post-pandemic world. Sri Lanka, a country linked with global trade may not be able to hold a long term ‘industrial hibernation’.
Senior economist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Colombo, Prof H.D. Karunaratne also justified the Government’s decision to commence industrial zones to avoid further adverse consequences to the economy. As he explained, export-oriented industries are in dire need of functioning as some of the companies are already receiving orders from their international clients, despite the global pandemic.
The apparel industry, the largest single industry in Sri Lanka which employs about 15% of the country’s total workforce is a sector most affected by COVID-19. In 2018, Apparels brought in 5 Billion USD to the country and the country is in the target of achieving 8 billion USD through apparel by 2025.
Prof Karunaratne predicts that the apparel industry would only undergo a global time lag and be back to normal very soon. “I think the industry will be back to normal within 2 or 3 months. Maybe the product diversification would be a temporary solution for them to sustain” he said.
Opening of ports and airports are also a pre-requisite for the functioning of any industry including apparels, the Professor pointed out. The Government of Sri Lanka closed down all international airports for more than a month, between March 19 and April 25.
“We are importing raw material from China and other countries for the main industries in Sri Lanka. For instance, to commence the construction industry we need cement products. Even in apparel, large quantities of raw materials are imported from China and other countries” he said.
However, he emphasized, when starting all these factories and offices, safety precautions should be a top priority. In addition to normal safety precautions introduced, ‘Guidelines on COVID-19 preparedness for workplaces’ issued by Directorate of Environmental, Health, Occupational Health and Food Safety, a division attached to the Ministry of Health, has emphasised several key rules to strictly follow.
All the staff at the time of entrance are subjected to a body temperature check and any person recording a temperature above 370C should be sent back home, under these instructions. In addition, washing their hands before entering the workplace, wearing masks on duty, having a foot bath before entering, discouraging workers from using other workers’ mobile phones, pens, common telephones, fax machines, etc.
“I think most of these safety measures are already seen in industrial zones. In some factories, employees usually wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Hence beginning work at industrial zones will not be a huge problem” Prof Karunaratne said.
Responsibility of the public
Meanwhile, Dr Jayaruwan Bandara, Director, National Medical Research Institute deems that lifting the curfew and restarting the country depends on the behaviour of the general public. “It is people who should guarantee the authorities that lifting curfew is not a threat to society. Once we lift the curfew, if they (general public) do not follow our guidelines to maintain social distance at least for a few more weeks, all our efforts would be futile” he said.
He urged the factory and office workers to follow the same guidelines such as wearing masks, using hand sanitizer and washing hands frequently for some time more. Employers are also bound to create a safe environment for their employees to work. “IDH and MRI are two places where COVID-19 virus is usually roaming around. But until now there is no COVID-19 patient-reported from the workforce of both our institutes because we follow safety guidelines to the dot,” he added.
Once the curfew is lifted, maintaining social distance in public transport would be a huge challenge the authorities and the public have to face. The Minister of Transport Mahinda Amaraweera has already declared that public transport will be restricted to essential services in the first stage. “In future, limiting passengers to the number of seats in buses and trains is one solution. The other solution is trying to continue the ‘work from home’ policy wherever possible” Dr Bandara said.