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Samagi Jana Balawegaya Parliamentarian Dr. Rajitha Senaratne addressing the press yesterday
By Asiri Fernando
Efforts by the Government to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus has failed with patients reported from across the island, former Health Minister and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarian Dr. Rajitha Senaratne charged yesterday.
Addressing the press, Dr. Senaratne stated that COVID-19 infected patients were being reported from across the island and that the crisis has reached a serious point with a number of 11 personnel at the Health Ministry testing positive for the virus.
“The situation has deteriorated to such a crisis, that today we hear that even the Health Minister has tested positive for COVID-19. The Health Minister tried dropping pots in rivers and she drank potions but she is a patient today.
“11 persons at the Health Ministry have tested positive, 70 have been moved to quarantine. The Health Ministry is at the very centre of battling this virus. Every day we see more patients, 278 deaths have been reported as of last night (23rd January). It is now islandwide. Patients are reported from 25 districts,” Dr. Senaratne stated, pointing out that the containment measures have not been effective.
Senaratne charged that the fact that Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi testing positive for the virus was creating a negative impression of Sri Lanka in the foreign media. The Opposition MP blamed the Government for promoting myths instead of science.
He argued that the Government disregarded the advice from the Opposition in Parliament to order a suitable vaccine several months before one was approved in order to avoid the backlog of orders.
“There are several vaccines which have been approved by the World Health Organization. We called for the vaccine to be ordered three months before one was approved. I requested it again during the budget. I know the Health Minister is helpless, the Government is not giving her the money to order the vaccine,” Dr. Senaratne charged, stating that the 600,000 doses of vaccine which Sri Lanka is said to receive in the coming days are only sufficient to vaccinate 300,000 persons.
“Countries like the US and Canada have ordered several times the number of their population. So, what does that mean for Sri Lanka? We will only begin to receive these vaccines in April 2022,” Dr. Senaratne charged.
The Opposition MP blamed the Government appointing a number of persons to oversee the COVID-19 containment program who were not qualified for the task and they did not appoint some of the best subject matter experts that were in the country, pointing out that the situation could have been a better-managed crisis and could have had access to more vaccines to protect the public.
