“I watched the mirage as it blended into the reflections of the long road ahead. It had been almost 2 months since I last drove my car. I looked at the surroundings, the vehicles passing me by, and listened to the horns of the red buses. I couldn’t notice the usual smile of the cashier at the nearby supermarket but I didn’t forget to smile behind my mask.”
Sri Lanka was relieved from the COVID-19 curfew in Colombo, Kalutara, and Gampaha on the 11th of May, 2020. The rest of the districts had already been relieved from their curfew for over two weeks now. Some of the people went to work while maintaining social distancing and following the safety guidelines issued by the Health Ministry. On January 27th, 2020, the first COVID-19 patient in Sri Lanka was confirmed who was a 44-year-old Chinese woman. We watched how the horrors invaded other countries.
Almost after 2 months, the first Sri Lankan with COVID-19 was confirmed on the 10th of March 2020. With that incident, the government declared 16th March 2020, as a national public holiday to contain the virus from spreading within the country. However, we all knew it would not last for just a day. Week by week the curfew extended. As Sri Lankans from overseas started immigrating, quarantine centers were established all over the island. The hospitals made preparations to increase their carrying capacity of COVID-19 patients and installed more ICU beds as well. The necessary infrastructure including masks, respiratory instruments, shields and sterilizing equipment, was built on both a large and small scale throughout the country. With the contribution from Sri Lanka Armed forces, new hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients and quarantine centers were built.
Due to the ongoing curfew, the government urged supermarkets to sell their products to customers via delivery methods. Amidst the curfew, farmers, fishermen, bankers and cleaners were allowed to carry on with their day jobs. The government delayed the monthly electricity and water bills and further stressed on not burdening the business sector, as they would be unable to stick to their due payments of loans. Yes! People faced difficulties. For some, there were days without a complete meal. However the regulations were necessary to reduce the rise of patients. The 2 digit number rose to a 3 digit number and kept on rising. After several fluctuations of increasing patients, the curve of the slope started to decrease. Now there are over 1000 confirmed cases, 9 deaths and over 600 recovered patients.
As indicated, the number of active cases is dropping. Almost half of the patients who were infected were cured and were asked to be self-quarantined further for 14-21 days in their own homes. Sri Lanka is among the most successful countries in the world in keeping COVID-19 out of its borders. Thus, a fatality rate of 1% and a recovery rate of 42% of COVID-19 patients observed within the country was a significant factor.
The strategy adopted was contact tracing, where contacts of infected patients are located to stop community transmission.
Under contact tracing, when an infected person is found (index: F0), the immediate close contacts of the infected (index: F1), the contacts of index: F1, (index: F2) and so on are traced with the help of the intelligence services and quarantined as fast as possible. There is a chance for slip ups to occur, due to false information given, but Sri Lanka with a tactical system in place, was able to manage in containing the few clusters found. The significant rise of COVID-19 patients occurred due to the Welisara Navy camp cluster. The Navy soldiers were called back to the camp and were transferred to Colombo for further testing. Their close associates, close contacts were found and quarantined.
Even though the deaths due to COVID-19 were low within the country, the disposal of the bodies was done following WHO rules and regulations for the cremation related to COVID-19 deaths. Curfews and lockdowns were imposed in different areas within the country at different times for certain time periods. This was to contain the growth of clusters. Arrests and legal actions were strict throughout the country for the sole purpose of preventing the spread of the virus.
The initiative of PCR tests in the community and suspected groups increased the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients even though they lacked symptoms of the virus. Over 38,000 tests were done within the past few months and are now in a continued pursuit. This was a vital step in identifying the carriers, to prevent the virus from spreading throughout the community. Thus it was successful and the confirmed patients were circled in clusters of their own.
Currently, the country is at the stage of re-opening. Universities and schools will remain closed and locations of mass gatherings are discouraged. Some of the economic activities and private sector work have resumed with a certain number of employees all the while maintaining social distancing during work and travel. Sterilization is done within the private sector and near public transport gatherings.
Compared to many other countries with the exponential growth of victims of COVID-19, Sri Lanka stands proud with a tremendous effort made to flatten the curve. With the courage to take the next disciplined step, a fully working country shall soon be a reality. According to specialists, reducing the patient count to zero cannot be expected and may seem impractical at the moment as it would take a long time. However, a working crowd of responsible individuals can shorten the time taken to reach a better tomorrow.
A tomorrow that won’t hold back our smiles.
–Written by Rtr.Dilshan Chandraguptha-
Image Credits:
Featured image: https://bit.ly/35UDIaC
Fig.1: Snip from: https://hpb.health.gov.lk/covid19-dashboard/
Fig.2: https://bit.ly/2WUwMGf
Fig.3: https://bit.ly/2Z7mR33
Fig.4: https://bit.ly/2y4xt7E
Fig.5: https://bit.ly/2LtgxLc
References
https://hpb.health.gov.lk/covid19-dashboard/
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
https://economynext.com/how-sri-lanka-and-vietnam-are-smashing-coronavirus-and-what-will-happen-next-66268.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Sri_Lanka
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