Damage limitation

Thursday, 30 April 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The last week has seen the gradual easing of curfew restrictions, along with a gradual increase in feelings of unease. Much of this is down to the increase in testing over the last week, which has seen confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country double in a matter of days. However, there has also been the disheartening nature in which all gains made through the month-and-a-half lockdown seem poised to slowly but surely dissipate.

One clear signifier of this has been the way in which public transport has struggled to cope with anti-coronavirus measures, a situation primarily down to many private bus operators refusing to work after they deemed social distancing guidelines too costly.

While the authorities were indeed hard at work limiting the number of passengers and ensuring the use of masks, there were still instances and reports of passengers flouting social distancing guidelines. Many suggested the lack of buses had made them reluctant to follow the safety protocols for fear of missing their commute.

It’s safe to assume that aside from the workplace, public transport is going to be the primary way in which COVID-19 will spread in Sri Lanka, once curfew measures are further relaxed in the coming weeks.

Sri Lanka has long had an overcrowding problem when it comes to public transport, but resolving it was never a top priority. In fact, so dire has the state of public transport been in Sri Lanka, it has spawned entirely new pockets in the industry through the advent of three-wheelers, taxis, and school vans. To put it mildly, it would take much more than a humble editorial column to propose a solution to Sri Lanka’s public transport ails.

But it is nevertheless a major problem in this battle against COVID-19, and if the problem of safe public transport cannot be resolved promptly, then the most prudent course of action is to assume the worst and plan accordingly. This means even more stringent hygiene and safety protocols in public spaces and the work place, so as to ensure that companies and other stakeholders consistently and adroitly implement COVID-19 countermeasures.

But like with any effective problem-solving exercise, the starting point is in identifying the extent of the problem, and with it a baseline. The Labour Commission this week began an online survey aimed at gathering data on what policy measures are needed for companies to continue working within the required safety guidelines.

This is an excellent launching pad towards the need of the hour – data-driven policymaking. With 85,000 companies registered with the Labour Commission already, surveys such as this provide a credible snapshot of how a majority of businesses are going to be implementing safety protocols, and more importantly, where they might be falling short.

While the Government has already provided some industry-specific guidelines on countering the spread of COVID-19, it’s clear - as seen by the influx of cases in the Navy (and likely very soon in the Army) - that the control mechanisms and preventive measures put in place have not been thorough enough.

Going forward, with the virus already spreading exponentially within the country, policy responses will have to be increasingly tailored based on the respective challenges of each company, sector, employee needs etc., lest the long-term repercussions of the lockdown end up being for naught.