Negligence and explosions

Friday 9th October, 2020

Having risen from a blissful slumber, the health authorities with the help of military intelligence are doing their darnedest to figure out how the latest COVID-19 cluster, which turned Gampaha into Sri Lanka’s Wuhan, came about. There are two possibilities according to those engaged in contact tracing: it was caused by new infections from another country, or the virus had been spreading unnoticed during the last two months or so while the government, the health authorities and others responsible for tackling the pandemic were resting on their oars.

It is widely believed that some Indian workers caused the second wave of infections. Brandix and the Indian High Commission have denied this claim. Brandix has said, in a media statement, that no one from India or any other country had access to its Minuwangoda facility, the epicentre of the COVID-19 second wave, during the period at issue. However, it is not clear from its press release whether foreigners had access to its factories elsewhere and some garment workers from Minuwangoda came into contact with them there. Brandix has also said the workers who returned to Sri Lanka from India on chartered flights underwent quarantine for 28 days, and none of them visited the Minuwangoda manufacturing facility. The question again is whether they visited other factories of the company. According to the flight details leaked to the media, one batch of Brandix workers returned from Visakhapatnam, India, on 22 Sept. 2020. If this is true, those workers have to undergo quarantine until 20 Oct. 2020. Are they still under quarantine?

Thousands of workers have migrated here from other South Asian countries. Some businesses such as eateries, vehicle service stations and construction companies are dependent on foreign workers, most of whom are overstayers or illegal immigrants, due to a chronic labour shortage. Sri Lankans are reluctant to work in certain sectors, and this has created a huge demand for cheap migrant labour. Employers prefer foreigners to local workers, who are notorious for absenteeism and malingering and entitled to EPF and ETF. This issue which went unaddressed for decades has resurfaced owing to the explosive spread of COVID-19.

The government flaunted the success of its previous anti-COVID-19 operations, which stood it in good stead, at the last general election. Now, it stands accused of having done precious little to prevent the second wave of infections. In April 2019, the country was rocked by bomb explosions as the then government neglected national security. About 18 months on, a ‘viral explosion’ has left it in a state of shock due to negligence on the part of the present dispensation.

We are not short of conspiracy theories. It is claimed, in some quarters, that the COVID-19 second wave is part of a sinister plan to destabilise the country by making its economy scream. We are not in a position to disprove or support these theories, but one thing is patently clear; the economy will not survive another round of lockdowns, and the country will be at the mercy of foreign powers for survival in case of having to be closed again; their assistance will not come without conditions; they will get what they have so far failed to in return for their aid.

What really matters now is not whether the COVID-19 second wave was caused by foreigners, or Martians, but how to tackle it without shutting down the economy and prevent the already strained health system from being overwhelmed. The country’s battle against the first wave of coronaviurs succeeded thanks to protracted lockdowns and curfews besides the strict enforcement of quarantine laws and health guidelines. This time around, we have had to battle the virus without countrywide lockdowns and curfews as the economy is in tatters. This has made the task of beating the virus doubly uphill, and the need for redoubling our efforts to prevail over the pandemic cannot be overemphasised. Everyone should put his or her shoulder to the wheel, or brace himself or herself for a viral tsunami, the signs of which are already visible.