By Rathindra Kuruwita

Leaders of 10 constituent parties of the government yesterday asked the President to lockdown the country for three weeks and establish an all-party mechanism to tackle the pandemic, given that it is a national disaster.

They claimed that it would take another six months to see the results of vaccination and there was a possibility of Sri Lanka becoming a graveyard until most Sri Lankans were vaccinated. They have also presented the President with a number of proposals to tackle the pandemic.

Ven. Athuraliya Rathana Thera (Ape Jana Bala Party), Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara (Democratic Left Front,) Prof. Tissa Vitharana (Lanka Sama Samaja Party), Minister Wimal Weerawansa (National Freedom Front), Minister Udaya Gammanpila (Pivithuru Hela Urumaya), A. L. M. Athaullah (National Congress), Tiran Alles (Mahajana Eksath Peramuna), Dr. G. Weerasinghe (Sri Lanka Communist Party), Asanka Nawaratne (Sri Lanka Mahajana Party) and Gevindu Kumaratunga (Yuthukama National Organization) are signatories to the letter.

“We need at least six weeks to inoculate those over 18. It will take another month to ensure that they get the second dose. Until we pass that vital threshold, there is a possibility of the country becoming a grave yard. This is obvious when we look at the WHO projections for the country if we continue as usual,” they said.

The political party leaders have said that they are sensitive to the economic challenges faced by the country and the impact a three-week lockdown can have on the economy.

“However, it is also obvious that the health system will collapse unless we lock down the country for at least three weeks. The people now live in fear and therefore although the country is officially open, a lot of economic activities have come to a standstill. Once we lock down the country and get things under control, people will be more willing to go out and engage in economic activity,” they said.

The SLPP constituents have said the pandemic is a national disaster and an all-party mechanism should be implemented to tackle the crisis. This committee must include health and economic experts.

“The people need to trust the government but as the media has revealed, and we have clarified this, there are serious discrepancies in COVID-19 data. It is silly to think that we can tackle a pandemic by manipulating the numbers. The government must punish everyone that is responsible for his data manipulation.”

The party leaders have also asked the President to call in retired doctors, and medical students to vaccinate people. Various grassroots clinics too can be used for inoculation, they said.

They also urged the President to establish grassroots committees, consisting religious leaders, elected officials and civil society leaders to monitor the progress of various activities that have been implemented.