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Here we go again

13 May 2021

If as William Shakespeare famously wrote in Romeo and Juliet, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, would a lockdown by any other name feel as frustrating? For all its insistence and reiteration that there will not be a national lockdown as the economy cannot handle such a blow, the Government has finally wilted to public pressure and concerns about an India-like crisis and declared a semi-lockdown. The irony is that the Government is right in this case. Sri Lanka’s economy, dominated by the informal sector, absolutely cannot handle a national lockdown or a sustained islandwide curfew. To be fair to the Government, that is not entirely their fault, although they have contributed through their shortsighted policies and an overly insular economic model. The blame for the current state of our economy can be placed at the feet of every government since independence, and in that respect, one could sympathise with the plight of the incumbent Government. However, one may have far less sympathy for the Government for its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic from a non-economic standpoint. It is true that this was a pandemic on a scale the modern world had never seen before. It is also true that, having been largely unaffected by the Spanish flu a century ago and the H1N1 or swine flu a few years ago, we have limited experience dealing with large-scale health disasters. However, it is also true that Sri Lanka, being an island, has only a couple of entry points and no border to protect. Furthermore, the country has a globally admired healthcare system, which even the World Health Organisation (WHO) has acknowledged. The country also had a preview of the pandemic when it was devastating China, Italy and the rest of Europe, Iran, the US, Brazil, and finally its neighbour India. It also had two waves; the first one minor compared to the second one but the second one itself minor compared to what other nations had been through. Could we have not handled this third wave better, if indeed a third wave was inevitable? Many would agree that the Government dropped the ball in this case and adopted a wait-and-see approach which has backfired spectacularly. A more proactive approach between the first wave and the second wave, or even the second wave and the third wave, in building up the necessary health infrastructure and embarking on a rapid digitalisation drive and a digital education campaign to minimise human interaction and contact, and generally setting an example of cautiousness and safety through the Government’s own actions, would have benefitted Sri Lankans and helped minimise the impact of this third wave.  Now that the horse has bolted, there is little point in closing the stable door, but to close it, the Government must just minimise the damage and bring about a sense of control to the operation of the country. At the moment it appears that the country is headed inexorably towards a full-blown lockdown. Many who would hate their freedom of movement curtailed would certainly hope not. Worse yet are the daily wage earners and the informal sector as a whole, who cannot earn without venturing out into society. However, for a population which is generally seen to be ill disciplined, this may be the most effective solution to stem the spread of the virus and re-establish normalcy.  We as a population are to be blamed for the lack of adherence to health guidelines and the disregard for the health concerns of our fellow Sri Lankans. However, the Government, which was elected to power to establish a sense of discipline, is more at fault for, far short of establishing discipline among its population, failing to even act in a disciplined manner itself.


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