By Yumiko Perera
Sri Lanka has made great progress in controlling the spread of Covid-19 over the past year, putting various measures in place to curb the spread of the virus. However, the increased movement on the part of the public during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year season is likely to result in a spike in cases over the next few weeks. While some diligently adhered to health guidelines, other individuals in society had seemingly forgotten that the pandemic is not yet behind us.
The Sunday Morning got in touch with several individuals to understand their perspective on how things have proceeded.
New Covid wave imminent
Rishmi Perera, 27, Attorney-at-Law
People have gone back to their regular day-to-day activities. Only few act with caution, and a vast number of people seem to act irresponsibly without adhering to the proper health guidelines.
I do think there is a threat of another fresh outbreak of the virus, especially because most people do not seem to be taking the health guidelines seriously. With the commencement of long holidays, people began to celebrate the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, as they could not celebrate it last year. Many gatherings were held without proper guidelines and the media coverage of the same, highlighting the festive season, further influenced people to act carelessly during the festive season. There is a big possibility that a fresh wave of the virus is approaching.
I feel that lockdown measures would be necessary to tackle the current problem at hand, especially given that lockdown measures had controlled the situation in the recent past. I feel separate work schedules should be given to workplaces, especially those in high-risk areas such as Colombo and Gampaha, where the spread of the virus seems to happen at a faster pace than other places across the island.
Lockdown should have been imposed during Avurudu
Rashane Pinto, 18, undergraduate
In terms of Covid control measures, the crux of this restriction is to limit travel and movement around the country to curb cross-provincial Covid-19 spread, and therefore lockdown restrictions should have been implemented during the Sinhala and Tamil Avurudu week. Currently, lockdown measures are unnecessary since the economic ramifications are unfavourable at a time of bearish economic activity. However, lockdown restrictions might become a necessity if the new cases of Covid-19 expand beyond control.
Authorities are well established in their control measures and are doing extraordinarily well in their attempts to stop the spread of the virus. However, they are limited by their resources and time, which restricts them from achieving absolute efficiency. More public support and response is needed in order to slow down and retrain the spread of the virus effectively.
Our safety is in our hands
Sathil Theja, 20, student
I don't think the people follow the health guidelines properly. For instance, if you're taking a jog at Independence Square, you would see that most people do not have their masks on. Social distancing has been long forgotten. Furthermore, as a student I have experienced that most of the teachers ask us to remove our masks and communicate.
In my opinion, as there will always be negligence among society, I believe this virus will spread further. However, I believe your safety and the safety of your loved ones is in your hands.
The Government is doing what it can do to control the situation, but if you take 100 people and give them a set of rules to abide by, not all of them would follow them. In my opinion, another lockdown would be necessary to eliminate this virus or at least curb its spread.
People are fed up
Shahane Perera, 23, banker
I don't think the people have neglected the guidelines, but it seems like people are fed up. It has been more than a year since the pandemic broke out and they want to go back to normalcy. With the vaccine being administered, people started assuming that everything is under control, so they seem to have taken their foot off the gas.
I do believe that there is a threat of another possible outbreak, because if you look at countries like India, there seems to be a significant rise in Covid-19 cases. If the Government can roll out the vaccines more productively and start administering them to a larger number of people, I feel that the situation could be brought under control. The authorities have put in a huge effort to curb the rise in cases, and it's commendable. Although, I feel that people need to take more responsibility when it comes to the spread of the virus. The only thing the Government can do at this point is to focus on getting more people vaccinated. I don't think lockdown measures are a feasible solution either, because our economy barely survived the first and the second waves. The country simply cannot afford to go into another lockdown.
Authorities also overlooked certain control measures
Pramodya Abeywickrama, 27, Attorney-at-Law
I don't think people have been following the Covid-19 guidelines 100%. After looking at public movement during the Sinhala and the Tamil New Year holidays, I feel like there is a possibility that a fresh wave could be coming our way. The authorities have done a commendable job in trying to curb the spread of the virus, but I feel like even they have been overlooking certain measures that would eventually help in halting the spread of the virus.
Although I don't think an islandwide lockdown would be advisable, imposing lockdown measures on high-risk areas seems like a feasible solution, given that there is a higher possibility of the spread of the virus in the upcoming weeks.
More testing is necessary
Anushi Hakmanage, 27, journalist
I don't think the public has been following the Covid-19 health guidelines properly. I don't think the authorities had done enough hold on the control of the initial guidelines either.
I feel partial lockdowns would be necessary, along with PCR testing. It would help slow down the spread of the virus. I believe more PCR testing is needed, especially when it comes to communities that have a bigger risk of exposure.
Govt. needs to pull its socks up
Asma Ameer, 25, banker
The public has not been following the health guidelines. If you step out, you will meet many people who aren’t even wearing the mask properly. Most people seem to have forgotten about the virus. If you take the number of cases reported recently into consideration, there is a possibility of a fresh wave of Covid-19.
I don't think the authorities are doing their very best to ensure Covid-19 is under control either. In Sri Lanka, the Covid vaccine is only being administered to people above 60 years old and the Government does not seem to be taking stringent action against those who violate the safety measures.
I feel that lockdown measures are necessary to tackle the situation, and the Government should strictly advise the public to follow the safety measures. Meanwhile, it should provide adequate facilities as well, especially when it comes to public transport, etc.
Rishmi Perera, 27, Attorney-at-Law
People have gone back to their regular day-to-day activities. Only few act with caution, and a vast number of people seem to act irresponsibly without adhering to the proper health guidelines.
I do think there is a threat of another fresh outbreak of the virus, especially because most people do not seem to be taking the health guidelines seriously. With the commencement of long holidays, people began to celebrate the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, as they could not celebrate it last year. Many gatherings were held without proper guidelines and the media coverage of the same, highlighting the festive season, further influenced people to act carelessly during the festive season. There is a big possibility that a fresh wave of the virus is approaching.
I feel that lockdown measures would be necessary to tackle the current problem at hand, especially given that lockdown measures had controlled the situation in the recent past. I feel separate work schedules should be given to workplaces, especially those in high-risk areas such as Colombo and Gampaha, where the spread of the virus seems to happen at a faster pace than other places across the island.
Lockdown should have been imposed during Avurudu
Rashane Pinto, 18, undergraduate
In terms of Covid control measures, the crux of this restriction is to limit travel and movement around the country to curb cross-provincial Covid-19 spread, and therefore lockdown restrictions should have been implemented during the Sinhala and Tamil Avurudu week. Currently, lockdown measures are unnecessary since the economic ramifications are unfavourable at a time of bearish economic activity. However, lockdown restrictions might become a necessity if the new cases of Covid-19 expand beyond control.
Authorities are well established in their control measures and are doing extraordinarily well in their attempts to stop the spread of the virus. However, they are limited by their resources and time, which restricts them from achieving absolute efficiency. More public support and response is needed in order to slow down and retrain the spread of the virus effectively.
Our safety is in our hands
Sathil Theja, 20, student
I don't think the people follow the health guidelines properly. For instance, if you're taking a jog at Independence Square, you would see that most people do not have their masks on. Social distancing has been long forgotten. Furthermore, as a student I have experienced that most of the teachers ask us to remove our masks and communicate.
In my opinion, as there will always be negligence among society, I believe this virus will spread further. However, I believe your safety and the safety of your loved ones is in your hands.
The Government is doing what it can do to control the situation, but if you take 100 people and give them a set of rules to abide by, not all of them would follow them. In my opinion, another lockdown would be necessary to eliminate this virus or at least curb its spread.
People are fed up
Shahane Perera, 23, banker
I don't think the people have neglected the guidelines, but it seems like people are fed up. It has been more than a year since the pandemic broke out and they want to go back to normalcy. With the vaccine being administered, people started assuming that everything is under control, so they seem to have taken their foot off the gas.
I do believe that there is a threat of another possible outbreak, because if you look at countries like India, there seems to be a significant rise in Covid-19 cases. If the Government can roll out the vaccines more productively and start administering them to a larger number of people, I feel that the situation could be brought under control. The authorities have put in a huge effort to curb the rise in cases, and it's commendable. Although, I feel that people need to take more responsibility when it comes to the spread of the virus. The only thing the Government can do at this point is to focus on getting more people vaccinated. I don't think lockdown measures are a feasible solution either, because our economy barely survived the first and the second waves. The country simply cannot afford to go into another lockdown.
Authorities also overlooked certain control measures
Pramodya Abeywickrama, 27, Attorney-at-Law
I don't think people have been following the Covid-19 guidelines 100%. After looking at public movement during the Sinhala and the Tamil New Year holidays, I feel like there is a possibility that a fresh wave could be coming our way. The authorities have done a commendable job in trying to curb the spread of the virus, but I feel like even they have been overlooking certain measures that would eventually help in halting the spread of the virus.
Although I don't think an islandwide lockdown would be advisable, imposing lockdown measures on high-risk areas seems like a feasible solution, given that there is a higher possibility of the spread of the virus in the upcoming weeks.
More testing is necessary
Anushi Hakmanage, 27, journalist
I don't think the public has been following the Covid-19 health guidelines properly. I don't think the authorities had done enough hold on the control of the initial guidelines either.
I feel partial lockdowns would be necessary, along with PCR testing. It would help slow down the spread of the virus. I believe more PCR testing is needed, especially when it comes to communities that have a bigger risk of exposure.
Govt. needs to pull its socks up
Asma Ameer, 25, banker
The public has not been following the health guidelines. If you step out, you will meet many people who aren’t even wearing the mask properly. Most people seem to have forgotten about the virus. If you take the number of cases reported recently into consideration, there is a possibility of a fresh wave of Covid-19.
I don't think the authorities are doing their very best to ensure Covid-19 is under control either. In Sri Lanka, the Covid vaccine is only being administered to people above 60 years old and the Government does not seem to be taking stringent action against those who violate the safety measures.
I feel that lockdown measures are necessary to tackle the situation, and the Government should strictly advise the public to follow the safety measures. Meanwhile, it should provide adequate facilities as well, especially when it comes to public transport, etc.