• DGHS says elections not his concern
• Keeping virus at bay is everyone’s responsibility

By Sarah Hannan Work is to resume tomorrow (11) islandwide and although many will still continue to work from home, a section of the workforce will report to work and follow the health guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health. While the general public is beginning to ease into the “new normal” of life amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, some sections of the political sphere of the country are more eager to prepare for the parliamentary election scheduled to take place on 20 June. Earlier this week, when The Morning spoke to Election Commission (EC) Director General Saman Sri Ratnayake, he noted that since the activity will involve a mass mobilisation of people from all parts of the country, additional measures apart from the general health guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health will need to be put in place. Ratnayake said the EC has held several discussions with the healthcare authorities and is amidst drafting the necessary guidelines. The guidelines will have to address different segments involved in the process, such as the EC permanent staff, government officials who will be assisting with election duties, political parties on how to conduct their campaigns, and the voters. Director General Health Services (DGHS) Dr. Anil Jasinghe meanwhile indicated that the health guidelines issued at present will need to be followed for a year or so, as the country is still facing the threat of the virus. The Sunday Morning spoke to Dr. Jasinghe to inquire whether it is advisable to conduct elections amidst a pandemic, to which he replied: “Elections are the least of my concerns. For that, we have the Election Commission and relevant authorities. The Election Commission seeks our assistance in drafting the health and safety guidelines to uphold elections and we will provide them with the expert knowledge to draft it.” Dr. Jasinghe stated that it is now the responsibility of the public to follow the health guidelines that have been issued when they report back to work or go out of their residences to obtain essentials. Responding to the concerns on how prepared the healthcare system is to handle a situation of community transmission of Covid-19 once the work resumes, Dr. Jasinghe informed that strict guidelines have been issued to keep track of visitors who come to obtain services from state and private institutions. “While we continue to closely monitor the situation, it is also the responsibility of the public to safeguard themselves from contracting the virus. If they follow the guidelines accordingly and continue to maintain social distancing and good hygiene practices, we will be able to keep this virus at bay,” he added. He also stated that anyone who happens to experience symptoms of the infection should seek medical advice immediately. Furthermore, clear instructions have been given for workplaces to monitor the health conditions of their employees as well. Therefore, if anyone falls ill at work, they should follow the issued guidelines. Once work resumes and the travel restrictions between districts are relaxed, many from high-risk areas and areas that were under isolation would also return to work. This might prompt the necessity of subjecting employees to PCR tests by employers for safety purposes. We asked Dr. Jasinghe, whether such requests will be facilitated. “We will not entertain such requests as the PCR test needs to be conducted only on persons who are exposed to a Covid-19-positive person or those who have symptoms. Even if we conduct a PCR test on a person today and the reading is negative, there is a chance that person can get infected the next day or next week,” he explained. To avoid such mishaps, the Ministry of Health does not recommend mass PCR testing to be carried out. The Government was due to publish a gazette notification yesterday (9) on the resumption of work and returning to normalcy amid Covid-19 and the guidelines that should be followed by the public. However, there was no sign of it being published even at midnight.