By Saman Indrajith

The JVP on Thursday claimed that the Health Ministry hierarchy- Secretary, Director General of Health Services, and Chief Epidemiologist had become a cat’s paw of the government to manipulate statistics pertaining to the Covid mortality and positive cases.

Addressing a press conference held at the JVP Headquarters in Pelawatte, JVP politburo member and former Kalutara District MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said that the three officials as the heads of the Health Ministry had a responsibility to reveal true statistics pertaining to the pandemic, as they were educated with taxpayers’ money. “We appeal to them to respect what they have learnt. Don’t become machines that spread false statistics on the Government’s political agendas. You have a responsibility on behalf of the people. You need to reveal the true information you receive. We know that you are silent before the President and Covid Task Force. That silence resulted in losing more and more people’s lives day by day. So, we urge you three being the heads of the Health Ministry to reveal the truth,” he said.

Dr. Jayatissa said that revealing true statistics would help save many lives of people and force them to a self-lockdown.

Data and information on Covid deaths and positive cases were manipulated according to the need of the President, he alleged.

He also said the President had got the Health Ministry officials to convince people that the virus had not spread in the community as yet.

He said not only the physical resources such as ICU, oxygen and ventilators, but also human resources were also becoming insufficient to treat the escalating number of Covid patients.

“Hospital staff is also becoming prey to Covid-19. More than 200 doctors and 4,000 nurses and minor staff have been infected with the virus across the country. This shows that the hospitals cannot afford to have any further spikes in Covid cases. As of Wednesday, 28 staff members, including eight doctors of the Homagama hospital, have been infected. Of those eight doctors, four were attached to the ICU. On the same day 265 staff members, including 27 doctors and 105 nurses of the National Hospital, in Colombo, were among the infected. Since the nursing staff members were infected, the hospital cannot maintain their duty shifts. The government should close down the country immediately, if not people should go for a self-lockdown,” Dr. Jayatissa said.