Providing services

Pandemonium ensued when curfew was lifted on Tuesday morning, with hundreds of thousands of people flocking to supermarkets, banks and other retail centres. Long lines were seen in many areas and social distancing, encouraged by health authorities, essentially did a massive U-turn. Concerned that efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka were being undermined, the Government promptly declared Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara as high risk areas and re-imposed curfew until further notice. This is a massive challenge as these districts are among the most populous and also economically important for the country.    

Understandably the furore was to get essential items and the public cannot be censured. Many people stood in line for hours, some starting even before curfew was officially lifted, only to find that essential items had been sold out once they made their way into supermarkets and shops. Perhaps the most heartrending were the long lines outside pharmacies where family members waited anxiously for hours to be able to purchase medicine for elderly parents. Even nurses and other professionals engaged in essential services were seen standing in line with the rest of the public to get food to bring home to their families.

The Government, which had initially planned to re-impose curfew at 12 noon, realised that it would be all but impossible for people to get back home in such a short period of time and extended the time by two hours. Yet it made little difference, with panicked people disregarding most guidelines and warnings on social distancing, despite the Police belatedly calling for shops to remain open to serve all customers irrespective of the curfew deadline. The authorities had a hefty responsibility and while they did attempt to maintain some level of order, it was largely unachieved.

The Government has announced a fresh measure to establish a task force to be headed by former Minister Basil Rajapaksa to deliver parcels of goods to households starting from Wednesday. All major supermarkets including Lanka Sathosa and large wholesalers such as Araliya and Nipuna rice traders are expected to provide the goods that will be distributed. The vehicles will be given permission to move during curfew times.

This will undoubtedly be a daunting task, especially since households have highly individualistic needs. Families will also have children and adults of different ages requiring different levels of nutrition and preferences. Even the brands bought by households differ from each other and while there is little doubt they can be prevailed onto overlook these issues temporarily, it nonetheless underscores the challenge before the Task Force. Moreover, who will make payments, how will they be made and what will happen when medicines are needed?

More information on these points and more are likely to be forthcoming in the next few days. One option that could be considered is allowing people to make their purchases online and pay online with pick up or delivery. Another possibility is to lift curfew for a couple of hours in a limited area, rather than several districts at the same time.  

On the heels of the Government announcing the latest measures, the Health Promotion Bureau announced yesterday that Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 count had crossed 100. Earlier in the day 311 people who had been quarantined at the start of the month were released and sent to their homes but over 3,100 remain in centres and 15,000 more are under self-quarantine. This is a battle that will redefine us and Sri Lanka cannot be on the wrong side of the outcome.