Akila accuses govt of gagging health authorities

By Chamminda Silva

The General Secretary of the UNP, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, on Wednesday, said that the government should reveal to the people whether it was in a position to control the coronavirus now spreading at an alarming rate in different parts of the country.

Addressing the media at the UNP headquarters Sirikotha, Kariyawasam said that the party had been compelled to ask that question from the government as it felt that the government was hiding the actual position about the virus from the people.

“Health Department personnel were taking PCR tests in different areas and travel restrictions have been imposed in a number of districts and therefore people have doubts whether the government is in a position to control the virus.”

The former Education Minister said the government had banned the Health authorities from holding news conferences about the actual situation of the virus, but it was they who could tell the public about the actual position of the virus.

Kariyawasam asked whether by imposing restrictions on health authorities it would help improve the situation. It was the health authorities who would be able to provide the precise details about disease, Kariyawasam added.