Daily News Editorial

Maintaining law and order amid the health crisis

Tuesday 31, March 2020

As we enter the third week of lockdown in the whole country, we are keenly aware that the country’s police and security forces are proceeding with numerous regular duties in addition to the multiplicity of new tasks dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

After all, the enforcers of law and order must continue to deal with the entire set of normal crime, social violence and misbehaviour. Criminal investigations must proceed. Round-ups of narcotic dealers are done. All kinds of other misdemeanours by citizens must be dealt with – from domestic violence to smuggling to cybercrime.

Yesterday, Police sleuths probing last year’s Easter bombings announced their capture of a key suspect in that extremist terror attack – the main accomplice of the suicide bomber who attacked the Zion Church in Batticaloa city. With nearly a year passing since the Easter terror campaign, our police investigators can be seen to be doggedly pursuing the perpetrators without let up, whatever the other, momentous, national distractions.

Meanwhile, the Navy, earlier last week, announced the apprehension of a large stock of narcotics on board some fishing craft off the south Eastern coast. The smugglers were also caught.

At the same time, the national cyber network monitors have identified and warned the public regarding certain new computer software being offered on the Internet that are actually invasive malicious programmes aiming to invade computers, steal data and, sow a little digital mayhem for the benefit of a cyber criminal ring.

The nation must certainly appreciate the sheer hard work of our guardians of law and order and national security who must undertake all these routine tasks over and above the taxing new labours in response to the ongoing health crisis.

Tried and tested emergency response systems in the country are now in overdrive as they cope with a sudden, new, emergency that is of an entirely new nature and of an unprecedented scale.

At the same time, the continuous curfews across the island mean that, due to severe restrictions on social interactions and physical movement of people, there is less opportunity for certain types of crime, especially crime in the public sphere. Robberies are less, although it is likely that, as the curfew regime drags on, petty criminals will get tempted to venture out in less monitored neighbourhoods. While drug peddling on the street is not viable, that will still not completely deter illicit ‘delivery’ to addict customers.

The general public is, thus, challenged to both rigorously practice the social hygiene measures while, at the same time, remaining alert for other social threats in the form of not only petty crime and human misbehaviour, but also subversive activities by extremists whenever they arise.

These are indeed testing times and, while our various contingency response agencies are ultra busy, we must steadfastly maintain our own composure and step up to the challenge of patience in the face of new hardships and inconveniences. And we do this even as we grittily and rigorously practice those ‘must’ social hygiene requirements – washing hands and staying apart.

As our medical community (as well as the world’s medical authority, the WHO) now exhorts constantly, we must stay apart to stay alive – as individuals and as a society.

There is no doubt that little Sri Lanka, despite its relative poverty, has already done better than most of the rich countries in meeting the COVID-19 threat. This success has already been noted by global health monitoring agencies.

The Government, no doubt, still faces the challenge of providing more and more Novel Coronavirus test kits to test as much of the population as possible. Hopefully, we will get more outside help in this expensive exercise. China, Japan and South Korea have already stepped forward to help with generous gifts of this equipment. We must hope that our private sector will also contribute by helping make this equipment domestically.

As at yesterday evening, the death toll from COVID-19 had risen to two persons and the count of infected cases to 122. Nearly a dozen COVID-19 patients have successfully been treated and have completely recovered from the disease. While over two thousand ‘suspect’ cases remain in quarantine, and many more are likely to be added to that number as and when fresh infection cases are detected and their contact persons are identified and corralled for quarantine.

Amid all this, our police and Security Forces work to maintain the peace and law and order in order to provide us with the socially stable foundation to devote our energies to fight this potentially devastating biological menace. Ultimately, however, it is us, all Sri Lankans, who must make it work.

Given the untiring labours and sheer bravery of our healthcare community and security agencies, the citizenry must not betray that whole endeavour by a mediocre laxity in doing its part to defeat COVID-19.

Daily Mirror Editorial

COVID-19, vulnerability and false certainties

On March 3, 2020, coronavirus or COVID-19 made its first appearance in Sri Lanka when a foreign national tested coronavirus positive. However, despite the country’s state of unpreparedness to face what was to become a world-wide pandemic, local doctors were able to save the patient’s life and she was able to leave the country.

Sadly, a few of the people whom she had interacted with, were soon found to be coronavirus positive. Our people almost and immediately went into panic mode, with questions being raised as to why the government was not blocking the entry of foreigners into the country.

Today, around three weeks after that unfortunate day, the day-to-day life in the country has radically changed. For the past two weeks, our country has been placed in virtual lockdown, a country-wide curfew has been imposed. But pharmacies and supermarkets were permitted to function. Unfortunately, as is common in our country, a few selfish persons abused the privilege and today only the state-owned pharmacy, the Osu Sala is permitted to remain open on a daily basis. Supermarkets too have been ordered close down except on particular days, resulting in further burden being imposed on the populace.

According to statistics, around 25% of our people receive Samurdhi benefits and live below the poverty line. Most of these people depend on a daily wage. The island-wide curfew means that at least 800,000 people do not now have the means of purchasing their basic needs, especially food requirements. For this section of the population, the coronavirus pandemic is disastrous and leaving them on the brink of starvation. At present, the government has not implemented a scheme to help them keep their body and soul together. 

Globally, at time of writing, 30,880 people have died of the virus, over 663,749 persons have tested positive to COVID-19. However,142,184 have completely recovered. A tiny silver lining, indicating the virus can be controlled if guidelines are strictly followed.

The US, probably the richest country in the world, has more confirmed coronavirus cases than any other country at present, with over 100,000 confirmed cases, according to Al Jazeera and 2,000 deaths. 

Yet, the US has spent about $3.5 trillion on healthcare expenditure in 2019 alone, but has yet been unable to protect its people.

But then again, the US has been in denial regarding the spread of the disease and refused to implement World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus, fearing market repercussions.In our own Sri Lanka, nearly 3,500 people have been in quarantine in 45 quarantine centres. This number includes 31 foreigners from 14 countries, but most importantly, only a single patient succumbed to the virus.

Whether we be in the US or in little Sri Lanka, today we are, one and all, living in fear. Fear has gripped our hearts and minds. The roads, streets and parks are deserted and run empty. Whether we be rich or poor we are all so-to-say in the same boat.

Making populist remarks, like linking the virus to China and making false claims as to how prepared one particular country, is over the other in the battle to defeat COVID-19 is not going to win anyone brownie points.

We have to realise that we can no longer think only of ourselves. We are in this battle against the pandemic together and we need to pool our resources. COVID-19 has exposed our vulnerabilities and the false certainties we have created. 

For example, the US defence budget today stands at a phenomenal $750 billion, its healthcare budget for 2019 was in the region of $ 3.6 trillion, but the coronavirus, has exemplified the fallacy of these beliefs. Today the US has over 100,000 confirmed cases with over 1,700 deaths as at 28 March. Whereas Sri Lanka with a total budgetary expenditure of Rs. 3,149 billion for 2019, was able to better cope with its confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases, save a single fatality.

According to Sri Lankan doctors who treated the first COVID-19 case, they were constantly in contact with doctors in China’s Hubei province. They were not ashamed to ask for help and gave credit to where it was due, when the patient recovered. 

Again, the Sri Lankan government led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was not afraid to take hard decisions like the imposition of curfew to stop the movement and gathering of people at particular places.

This is direct contrast with the so-called developed western countries, who condemned methods used in China to halt large gatherings and movement of people citing human rights violations.

The Island Editorial

Small is useful

Tuesday 31st March, 2020

Time was when there were retail shops, or sillara kades, at every nook and cranny of the country, selling various commodities, including grocery items, at reasonable prices. Catering as they did mostly to low income groups, they could keep prices low as they had no overheads as such. They were open, from morn till night, daily. They stood the ordinary people in good stead in that essentials were available at affordable prices. But, most of these small businesses could not withstand the tide of consumerism, which paved the way for the rapid expansion of giant supermarket chains.

The need for ensuring the existence of the sillara kades is felt today more than ever, thanks to the current countrywide lockdown, coupled with a strictly enforced curfew. When the curfew, which is in force to prevent mass gatherings on account of the spread of Covid-19, is relaxed, people, desperate to buy essentials, throng streets and line up near supermarkets, which get stripped bare in next to no time. There can also be seen lines of people near the existing retail shops, where goods are cheaper than at supermarkets. Fashionably dressed men and women also join these queues, which are not long, for want of a better alternative.

We have, in this space, urged successive governments to take action to protect retailers as their elimination will place the ordinary public at the mercy of giant businesses. Supermarkets are, no doubt, necessary, in the modern society, and the state is duty bound to look after their interests, as well, but the existence of small businesses, which cater to the ordinary people, must also be ensured. It may be recalled that the Rice Mafia is now exploiting both the farmer and the consumer, having driven most of the small-time millers out of business. No government can control the big-time rice millers, who have become a law unto themselves. This is what happens when small businesses go belly up.

We peddle no argument that retailers are driven by altruism; they, too, seek to maximise profit, which is the name of the game, but they are capable of keeping prices relatively low and making goods freely available at the grassroots level. Hence the need to protect them.

Meanwhile, what would have been the situation if Sathosa had been privatised and the co-operative outlets closed down? The state would have had no way of controlling the distribution and sale of essential commodities. Sathosa is playing a vital role in making goods available to the ordinary people at the prices prescribed by the government.

Former Minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is heading the Presidential Task Force, appointed to manage the current situation, said, the other day, that the co-operative outlets had to be strengthened to streamline the distribution of essential commodities, at the grassroots level. Following the 1977 regime change, which led to the unbridled economic liberalisation, the co-operative movement was neglected and left to wither on the vine. Its survival has been a miracle.

Now that the country has realised the value of the co-operative outlets and Sathosa, once again, the government should consider developing them a top priority. Similarly, action should be taken to help retailers stay afloat. It is hoped that the lessons learnt during the Covid-19 crisis won’t be forgotten when normalcy returns.

Let all political parties make a written pledge, in their election manifestos, to develop Sathosa and the network of cooperative outlets and ensure the protection of retailers.