A COVID reality check 

It was announced yesterday that limited crowds would be allowed to attend the Lanka Premier League that is set for 5-23 December. The move has been lauded by many cricket-starved fans as well as the Sports Minister himself, who tweeted that “Cricket is nothing without the fans,” as he praised the decision taken by the Ministry of Health. 

While the decision is certainly understandable, and indeed unavoidable considering the speed at which the rest of the country is opening up, the health guidelines at events such as the LPL and any other similar ones in the future must be implemented much more stringently than they have been in the recent past. 

Just last week pictures were widely shared of the matches involving the Sri Lankan football team during the recently-held Mahinda Rajapaksa Cup. For the first time since the onset of the pandemic, fans were allowed at an international sporting event in Sri Lanka, but the sight of many thronging together simply cannot be allowed to repeat itself at the LPL or indeed any sporting event going forward – at least not until there is a handle on the pandemic.

Even as the announcement was made for fans to be allowed to watch the LPL in the stands, medical experts were warning about the growing number of COVID case numbers. And more worryingly, the fact that health authorities have been unable to contact trace where the new cases are originating from. 

Despite many of our neighbours and, indeed, most of the Western world acknowledging community spread in their countries, Sri Lanka has been steadfast in its insistence that there has been no community spread whatsoever – even as single cluster numbers have continued to balloon. Just as the country is opening up, and with a tourism drive underway to jumpstart the tourism industry, a need to declare community spread would be a devastating blow.

However, if the six-week pseudo lockdown in August/September showed anything, it’s that the Sri Lankan public cannot be relied on to adhere to guidelines to a reasonable extent – even if they’re not perfectly implemented. Indeed, at the time the Government wasn’t particularly strict in ensuring guidelines were followed; even while an inter-province travel ban was in place, social media had pictures of many travelling around the country, while vehicular traffic – admittedly not at the level it has been seen in recent days – was still fairly prevalent. 

The difference between then and now, between COVID cases declining and increasing, has arguably been the perception amongst the public. Back then companies still managed to work efficiently through work-from-home protocols, while trips to supermarkets and malls were limited, if not exactly minimised. Much of this was down to a certain degree of self-policing among the public, if not for any reason but the fact that there was at least a notional lockdown in place. 

However, while the lockdown was officially lifted to allow for daily labourers to return to work – the section of society most impacted by COVID restrictions – it is paramount that other businesses and individuals able to work-from-home or remotely do so when and where possible.

The last year has shown that certain office jobs do not require a physical ‘at office’ presence, so there is no need for private companies to call employees back to work wholesale. COVID is not something that is going to go away quietly, and the sooner that the public and more so the private sector realise and adapt to this, instead of making futile – and life-threatening – attempts to ‘return to normal,’ the better.