Opposition calls for declaration of a ‘state of disaster’

SJB MPs  Thalatha Atukorale, Eran Wickramaratne, Dr. Harsha de Silva and Kabir Hashim addressing the media at the Opposition Leader’s office on Monday

The main Opposition party, the SJB, on Monday called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to summon an all-party conference on managing the evolving COVID-19 crisis quickly.    

Addressing the media at the Opposition Leader’s office in Colombo, senior SJB MP Kabir Hashim, urged the government to heed the advice of medical experts and seek broad consultation to better manage what they termed as the hour of national crisis.

The SJB was prepared to help Hashim said. “We the SJB urge the Government to call an all-party conference to effectively manage the COVID-19 crisis. We must first save the public.”

MP Hashim said that prioritising economic revival and political interest over the health and well-being of the public was a failure on the part of the government and contributed to the transmission of the virus.

SJB Colombo District MP Dr. Harsha de Silva said: “I think the time has come for the government to call an all-party meeting and decide on how to obtain the assistance of the Opposition, but on the condition that decisions are made only on the advice of experts and not on political grounds.”  

 MP De Silva said that as medical experts had indicated that the coming weeks could see a public health emergency, the government should consider declaring a ‘state of disaster’ under the Disaster Management Act and allow the formulation of a more inclusive decision-making body. “Medical experts are pointing out that there is a disaster looming. The public is in danger.”

 Dr. de Silva said that under the Disaster Management Act, the government could establish a Disaster Management Council, made up of the President, Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, selected Ministers, Governors of the Provinces and five members of the Opposition. He reiterated that the Opposition was ready to help the government.

 SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne said that the projections by the health experts were gloomy and immediate action had to be taken to arrest the situation.

He called on the government to appeal to friendly countries, the international community, and the UN to get mobile field hospitals, critical medical equipment and boost oxygen capacity as soon as possible.  

“This will be a test of the government’s diplomacy. There is a need for 600,000 AstraZeneca vaccines. The amount is nothing compared to the millions of vaccines needed by some countries. Those who got the first dose are awaiting the second.”

Wickramaratne maintained that had the government heeded expert opinion and the views of the Opposition last year, a vaccine shortage would not have arisen. “We are six months behind the rest of the world in responding to the pandemic. This government has completely failed to control the COVID-19 outbreak. We have been telling them from the beginning that the task forces it has set up are not led by specialists. The government opened up the country at a time it should have remained closed.”

MP Wickramaratne said that the present infection rate was very high, and added that according to the data models they had seen the infection rate may reach 4,000 in the coming weeks. “When that happens, there may be a need for additional 10-12 ICU beds a day. Already ICU beds are scarce. This capacity needs to be increased.”

SJB Ratnapura District MP Thalatha Atukorale said that the government could not pass the blame for the rapid spread of the virus on to the public.