Major crisis brewing in Colombo City – Rosy

Colombo Mayor Rosy Senanayake yesterday (19), said people who live within the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) area are facing a massive humanitarian crisis due to the knock-on effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement, Senanayake said her previous request to impose a lockdown in the Colombo City limits (Colombo 1 -15) came as she was very well aware of the situation within the city and could speak on behalf of the people who live there.

She also said the resources of the Government and the CMC are overstretched in doing testing, identification, contact tracing and quarantining. A city-wide lockdown will enable the authorities to do a systematic, far reaching operation to test and isolate COVID-19 positive persons and their direct contacts so as to stop the spread in the highly congested city and from the city outward as well.

“My main argument is that this lockdown can be used to quickly get on top of the situation by doing a lot more testing, including much more random testing, identify and isolate pockets and bring normalcy back as soon as possible, so that city life and businesses can resume as soon as possible,” the Mayor added.

Furthermore, the CMC have called on all retired PHIs to report back and is currently holding discussions with the Colombo Medical Faculty to bring in medical students as interns to undertake certain tasks in the public health department as it is a massive operation to undertake the testing, isolation, contact tracing of patients in the city.

“We are seeking the assistance of corporates and individuals who can contribute directly to those in need or join hands with the CMC and contribute in kind or cash to the Mayor’s Fund which is used to purchase and distribute dry rations to those in need,” she said.

(Source: Ceylon Today)