Health Minister urges people to learn to live  with coronavirus for next three and a half years

By Saman Indrajith

Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi told Parliament yesterday that the COVID-19 virus was going to last for the next three and a half years and people would have to learn to live with the problem.

The Minister said so responding to a question raised by Ratnapura District SJB MP Hesha Withanage, who demanded to know from the government why some of the experts who had been involved in the battle against the virus during the first wave were kept out of the anti- COVID-19 campaign.

 Minister Wanniarachchi said the government kept changing its strategies as per the instructions of the World Health Organization and made appointments as per the requirements of those strategic changes.

“This virus is evolving. The first virus case was detected in Sri Lanka on January 27. You cannot compare the previous situation with the situation we are facing now. None of the countries in the world follow the strategies they had at the time of the advent of this virus. Entire world is following the guidelines and instructions of the WHO. This is a pandemic. At first we closed the country for a couple of months as per WHO instructions. The WHO has changed its instructions. They no longer tell us to keep the country closed.”

MP Withanage said doctors Anil Jasinghe and Jayaruwan Bandara had been at the forefront of the fight against the virus during the first wave and asked whether their services would be obtained again.

The Minister said Dr Jasinghe got a promotion as the Secretary to the Ministry of Environment. “He attends the COVID-19 committee meeting of the Health Ministry. Dr Jayaruwan Bandara was temporarily appointed as the spokesman of the Health Ministry till the appointment of the new Director General of Health Services. He did not want to continue in the same position after the appointment of the new Director General and he resigned from the post of spokesman.”