Amidst supportive and opposing opinions, after a month, the Government lifted the islandwide lockdown yesterday (21). Even though there is an intense debate as to the benefits and harms the lockdown caused, the country is ready to resume economic activities with great caution. For how long, is a question that can only be answered by the people’s behaviour and the authorities’ Covid-19 management efforts. However, those two aspects depend on one important factor, i.e. how determined Sri Lanka is to not repeat the mistakes it made in the past, especially during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year season.
The Government also decided to impose a lockdown from the night of 23 June to the morning of 25 June, with Poson Poya Day falling on 24 June, in a bid to prevent people from gathering. However, it does not apply only to Buddhist religious places, as during these two days, all other religious places would be closed. Also, the new safety regulations, issued by the Government for the people to follow after the lifting of the lockdown, require that all religious places be closed until further notice.
Poson Poya Day is the second most important religious day for the country’s Buddhist population, and Sri Lanka is a country that used to declare a week of celebrations for prominent Buddhist religious festivals such as Vesak and Poson Poya Days.
In this context, the Government prioritising the interests of the entire nation over a large-scale religious festival that could jeopardise the safety of the people, is indeed an admirable decision.
However, looking at the past of such decisions is also important, as it can help us properly evaluate the decisions we make in the present. The truth is, it took too long for Sri Lanka to understand the importance of identifying the right moment that restrictions should be imposed, and in the past few months, there were several instances that blatantly violated Covid-19 safety guidelines. Among them were competitions and events, funerals of politicians, and even political rallies. However, these events did not face the same fate that befell the general public who violated the same regulations on a much smaller scale. We cannot forget how the Sinhala and Tamil New Year festival was celebrated by the public, and how the Government conveniently ignored the warnings by the public health inspectors (PHIs) that mere guidelines are not going to be able to stop the people from acting irresponsibly.
That mistake was, however, not as small as it appeared, and led to an entire new wave of Covid-19, which unfortunately happened to be worse than the previous two waves. At the time it appeared that the Government was more interested in satisfying its predominantly Sinhala Buddhist voter base in the short term than looking at the entire population’s long-term safety. But now, even though great damage has already been done due to that mistake, the Government has understood the consequences of its actions, and has decided that public gatherings, especially religious gatherings where the people act with no regard for the prevailing situation, should be restricted for some time. This time around the Government does not appear to have cared about trivialities such as protecting and appeasing its voter base.
Learning from mistakes is not a complicated skill; it is something normal people generally do. When it comes to a government dealing with a deadly pandemic, it should focus on preventing mistakes, rather than merely learning from them. However, that discussion may be a little too advanced for a country like Sri Lanka that keeps repeating the same mistake, and for the time being, we can truly appreciate that the Government has made the right decision by declaring a lockdown during the Poson Poya Day holiday, even though the same decision during the New Year season could have averted the third wave.
The people celebrating the regained freedom, even though under restrictions, is justifiable, and most of them deserve that opportunity for spending a month confined in their homes. However, Sri Lanka has been through three waves of the pandemic to understand that celebrating that freedom should be done responsibly, without leaving any room for another wave of Covid-19, and the Government has given an example. But, it should not be a one-time measure, and therefore, it is advisable to ban all events for the foreseeable future, in order to achieve long-term results.
At the end of the day, the good old saying “better late than never” seems to be valid still.A no exceptions policy
21 Jun 2021
A no exceptions policy
21 Jun 2021
Amidst supportive and opposing opinions, after a month, the Government lifted the islandwide lockdown yesterday (21). Even though there is an intense debate as to the benefits and harms the lockdown caused, the country is ready to resume economic activities with great caution. For how long, is a question that can only be answered by the people’s behaviour and the authorities’ Covid-19 management efforts. However, those two aspects depend on one important factor, i.e. how determined Sri Lanka is to not repeat the mistakes it made in the past, especially during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year season.
The Government also decided to impose a lockdown from the night of 23 June to the morning of 25 June, with Poson Poya Day falling on 24 June, in a bid to prevent people from gathering. However, it does not apply only to Buddhist religious places, as during these two days, all other religious places would be closed. Also, the new safety regulations, issued by the Government for the people to follow after the lifting of the lockdown, require that all religious places be closed until further notice.
Poson Poya Day is the second most important religious day for the country’s Buddhist population, and Sri Lanka is a country that used to declare a week of celebrations for prominent Buddhist religious festivals such as Vesak and Poson Poya Days.
In this context, the Government prioritising the interests of the entire nation over a large-scale religious festival that could jeopardise the safety of the people, is indeed an admirable decision.
However, looking at the past of such decisions is also important, as it can help us properly evaluate the decisions we make in the present. The truth is, it took too long for Sri Lanka to understand the importance of identifying the right moment that restrictions should be imposed, and in the past few months, there were several instances that blatantly violated Covid-19 safety guidelines. Among them were competitions and events, funerals of politicians, and even political rallies. However, these events did not face the same fate that befell the general public who violated the same regulations on a much smaller scale. We cannot forget how the Sinhala and Tamil New Year festival was celebrated by the public, and how the Government conveniently ignored the warnings by the public health inspectors (PHIs) that mere guidelines are not going to be able to stop the people from acting irresponsibly.
That mistake was, however, not as small as it appeared, and led to an entire new wave of Covid-19, which unfortunately happened to be worse than the previous two waves. At the time it appeared that the Government was more interested in satisfying its predominantly Sinhala Buddhist voter base in the short term than looking at the entire population’s long-term safety. But now, even though great damage has already been done due to that mistake, the Government has understood the consequences of its actions, and has decided that public gatherings, especially religious gatherings where the people act with no regard for the prevailing situation, should be restricted for some time. This time around the Government does not appear to have cared about trivialities such as protecting and appeasing its voter base.
Learning from mistakes is not a complicated skill; it is something normal people generally do. When it comes to a government dealing with a deadly pandemic, it should focus on preventing mistakes, rather than merely learning from them. However, that discussion may be a little too advanced for a country like Sri Lanka that keeps repeating the same mistake, and for the time being, we can truly appreciate that the Government has made the right decision by declaring a lockdown during the Poson Poya Day holiday, even though the same decision during the New Year season could have averted the third wave.
The people celebrating the regained freedom, even though under restrictions, is justifiable, and most of them deserve that opportunity for spending a month confined in their homes. However, Sri Lanka has been through three waves of the pandemic to understand that celebrating that freedom should be done responsibly, without leaving any room for another wave of Covid-19, and the Government has given an example. But, it should not be a one-time measure, and therefore, it is advisable to ban all events for the foreseeable future, in order to achieve long-term results.
At the end of the day, the good old saying “better late than never” seems to be valid still.Kapruka
Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!
Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!