Several private businessmen were fleecing passengers who come through Bandaranaike International Airport and they were behind the shutting down of the state-of-the-art PCR lab there, Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera said yesterday.

Such action had allowed the businessmen to make colossal amounts of money, the Thera said, adding that there were indications that a group of businessmen and professionals was attempting to make money out of vaccines and Rapid Antigen Tests. There were accusations that the country was bringing in test kits at a much higher price.

“What is happening at the airport is worse. For almost a year, some businessmen have managed to route inbound passengers into quarantine hotels. These passengers were compelled to cough up large amounts of money until PCR tests were done. Media and unions have been highlighting this for months and finally an ultra-modern PCR lab was opened at the airport. This is probably the best PCR lab in Sri Lanka. However, after two days in operation, it closed down,” the thera said.

If the government continued to allow the private sector to fleece the people, soon the people would lose all faith in the state institutions, he said. The government should also explore whether indigenous medicine could play a role in COVID-19 control, the Thera said.

“The doctors who practise indigenous medicine too hold degrees from government funded universities. These establishments have been cash strapped for decades. Give these institutions money to conduct research and to develop indigenous medicine. I am not asking the government to ignore what we call western medicine. I think we can use both practices to complement each other,” the Thera said