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Could Sri Lanka follow the Singaporean example?

02 Jul 2021

  • The radical 'living with Covid' policy's relevance to this nation will depend on various factors

By Sumudu Chamara   Foreign media quoted Singaporean authorities last week as saying: “The bad news is that Covid-19 may never go away. The good news is that it is possible to live normally with it in our midst.” Even though this statement came in a context where Singapore is getting ready to reopen the country for normal, day-to-day activities after vaccinating a huge portion of its population, this is the reality the entire world has been forced to come to terms with. Adapting to the concept of “new normal”, which in the case of the Covid-19 pandemic means going about with normal life amidst the pandemic, is a term the world has grown familiar with in the past few months. Some countries have already taken measures to gradually transition to the new normal.   New normal The concept of “new normal” essentially refers to a situation that is different from what has been experienced or done previously, and is understood to be a situation that one needs to be familiar with, mostly because it is less likely to return to the previous state at all or anytime soon. The Covid-19 pandemic may have been the most recent event that triggered the wider use of this term, but it has been used on many previous occasions in world history, especially when the world had to deal with economic, social, and health crises such as wars, plagues, and economic depressions. Even though some countries have barely started their vaccination programmes – which many view as the best and so far the only way to ease Covid-19-related restrictions – some countries have vaccinated a considerable portion of their populations, and even removed all mandatory safety guidelines. Countries such as Israel, Bhutan, New Zealand, and the US, have removed mandatory face mask rules, albeit subject to conditions. Italy, which once was the hardest-hit European country in terms of Covid-19, recently allowed its citizens into public places without masks, after the country’s Health Ministry classified each of its 20 regions as “white”, which signifies low risk under the country’s colour coded classification system. According to foreign media, Singapore’s health authorities have stated that Covid-19 will be managed like other endemic diseases such as the common flu, and that the priority in the coming few months will be to prepare the country for life with Covid-19 as a recurring, controllable disease.   New normal in Sri Lanka According to Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) Central Committee Member Dr. Prasad Colombage, even though the Covid-19 safety guidelines set by the health authorities are up to international standards, in order for Sri Lanka to adapt to the new normal, further measures that are based on the scientific evaluation of the prevailing pandemic situation are crucial. He also noted that continuing day-to-day activities under the new normal is the only way forward for the country, and that continuing the vaccination programme and making sure that citizens strictly adhere to the Covid-19 safety regulations are extremely important in this endeavour. According to Dr. Colombage, if Sri Lanka ensures the success of its vaccination programme and the safety guidelines, the country’s situation would get better within several months, making it possible to live under the new normal; otherwise, the country will have to repeatedly impose lockdowns from time to time. He added: “The safety guidelines Sri Lanka has in place are more than enough, and are in accordance with the international standards. However, implementation, which decides the nature of the results we get, is what is lacking. If we follow them, these guidelines are more than enough. That is, in fact, how many other countries have managed to live normal lives in the midst of the Covid-19 situation.” When asked whether Sri Lanka’s current status of dealing with the pandemic is stable enough to promote the new normal concept with fewer restrictions, Dr. Colombage said that while the situation is stable enough to try and do so, implementing this concept would face issues pertaining to the current Covid-19 management efforts. Explaining further, he noted: “For example, if we take into account Sri Lanka’s transport services and the implementation of matters pertaining to the new normal concept, Sri Lanka still needs to implement more measures to ensure safety in transport services. If we look at the transport service situation in other countries, they have strict, more methodical, and newer guidelines, to which the passengers have to adhere to.  “But when it comes to Sri Lanka, no such measure has been taken. What happens instead is the restriction of people’s travelling behaviours from time to time, during which time the people are merely instructed to adhere to strict restrictions. Most of the time, the number of people travelling is not controlled, and instead, it is the transport services that are subjected to restrictions. This results in too many people using limited transport services.” He also noted that the relevant Ministries should devise a methodology to streamline this process, adding that what needs to be done is to increase transport services while restricting the number of people allowed to travel. He emphasised that it is by increasing the availability of transport services that Sri Lanka can increase the amount of space available for people. The Morning’s attempts to contact the Primary Health Care, Epidemics and Covid-19 Disease Control State Minister Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle and other Health Ministry officials to ascertain their stance when it comes to encouraging people to adapt to the new normal, and whether Sri Lanka is ready to do so, were not successful. “For example, if we decrease the number of trains operating to 50% while restricting the number of people allowed to travel to 50%, the rationale remains unchanged,” Colombage said, adding that measures of such nature would therefore not make it possible to implement the new normal concept. As a solution, a proper evaluation needs to be carried out with regard to the number of passengers, and the space available in transport services, according to him. Adding that the prevailing situation cannot be managed properly without employing such scientific methods, he noted: “Blindly following the safety guidelines will not bear fruit, and other countries have adopted very scientific methods.”   Technology’s role in the new normal Online business activities, educational activities, and social activities, among others, have been resuming during the past few months, as people began embracing new ways of doing things with minimal physical interaction with others. Sri Lanka also encouraged people to work and study from home, with traditional office and school hours being done away with, and a decline in the necessity to attend schools and offices. According to some United Nations (UN) agencies, including the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the new normal could be digital, as a large number of people and companies have started going digital during the Covid-19-related lockdowns. As per a report issued by UNCTAD, as a result of lockdowns becoming normal, or a part of new normal, businesses and consumers started providing and obtaining more goods and services online, which has caused the electronic commerce’s share of global retail trade to climb from 14% in 2019 to 17% in 2020.  “The post-Covid-19 era will bring forward a new normal, one that will accelerate digital transformation in many areas, and these areas include digital economy, digital finance, digital Government, digital health, and digital education,” according to the UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Head Liu Zhenmin. “Indeed, many Governments and businesses have already turned to digital platforms and digital solutions. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed harsh fragilities and digital divides that have been allowed to develop for far too long,” he added. Leading US-based think tank, the Pew Research Centre (PRC), based on a study that involved asking over 900 innovators, developers, business and policy leaders, researchers, and activists as to what life would be like in 2025 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and other crises in 2020, said that most of the respondents were of the opinion that the people’s relationship with technology will deepen as larger segments of the population come to rely more on digital connections for work, education, healthcare, daily commercial transactions, and essential social interactions.  They had, however, pointed out some negative results that new normal working conditions may lead to, due to the increased digitalisation. Among them are, the worsening of economic inequality (caused by inequalities in access to digital tools and the lack of knowledge and familiarity with digital platforms, and also the loss of jobs caused by technological changes), the enhanced power of big technology firms (as they exploit market advantages and mechanisms such as artificial intelligence in ways that are likely to pose a threat to the privacy and autonomy of the users), and the increased spread of misinformation, which can also damage social stability and cohesion and fact based decisions. The positive results include the enhanced state of life of people (due to people being more familiar with flexible working conditions) and more technological advancements.  There is no assurance that the Covid-19 pandemic will end in our lifetime, or ever, and the new normal is now the foreseeable future, whether or not we are quite ready to accept it. Sri Lankans too can adapt to the new normal concept, and live our lives as before – but with greater caution and responsibility. However, it will not be possible until and unless the citizens take the situation more seriously, and the authorities understand the importance of updating the ways employed to manage the pandemic situation.


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