Failure to prevent COVID-19 deaths worse than not thwarting Easter attacks – JVP

The JVP yesterday said that the government’s failure to prevent COVID-19 deaths was worse than the Yahapalana government’s lapses that led to the Easter Sunday terror attacks.

Addressing the media at the party headquarters in Pelawatte, JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva said the previous government had had to take responsibility for failing to stop the Easter carnage, even when the intelligence apparatus warned of such attacks. “In the same way, this government is keeping mum and ignoring recommendations of the health authorities and health experts’ calls to shut down the country while the number of COVID-19 deaths was increasing to unprecedented levels.

“The Ranil-Maithri government had to bear the responsibility for failing to prevent the Easter Sunday attack and was unable to save about 300 precious lives. This government is also not taking any action to prevent the Covid-19 deaths despite health experts’ call for stern action..”

Consultant in Community Medicine and Former Chief Epidemiologist, Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe, said that the WHO and other medical experts had predicted that there would be around 30,000 COVID-19 deaths in this country by the end of this year and the number could be brought down to 18,000 if the government moved for a lockdown immediately.

He said that there was a possibility of the daily number of deaths reaching the 4,500 mark and it could reach 6,000 mark by October if the country was kept open. Of these deaths, around 75 percent would be elderly people, Dr. Abeysinghe said, adding that around 13 percent of the country’s population were elderly over the 60 years of age.

NPP MP Dr Harini Amarasuriya also addressed the media.

(Source: The Island – By Saman Indrajith)