Mayor urges govt to lock down Colombo City

By Pradeep Prasanna Samarakoon

Colombo Mayor Rosy Senanayake yesterday (18) has called on the government to lock down Colombo for two or three weeks to arrest the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases from the city.

“All parts of the city from Colombo 1 to Colombo 15 have reported COVID-19 patients and already there have been over 30 deaths, and many experts including doctors have pointed out the need to lock down the city to prevent further spread of the disease,” she told The Island yesterday (18).

Mayor Senanayake said that a few selected areas within the city had been isolated but that was not an effective measure because people kept moving in and out of those areas.

She said that at least five percent of the city’s population numbering around 30,000 might be infected. “More than 200 members of the Municipal Council staff are sick.”

The Mayor said that the CMC had been compelled to recall retired Municipal health workers and to hire medical students to help trace, test and treat patients.

“We urge the government to close the city and prevent buses coming to the city from other areas. Vehicular movement should be stopped immediately. Vehicles including buses continue to move via the routes in isolated areas. So, what is the meaning of isolation if it does not help the spread of the disease?  We hope the government will listen to health experts and lock down the city for at least two weeks.”