Friends of the virus

Tuesday, 3rd August, 2021

Coronavirus is an elusive enemy, and it is a mistake to declare victory prematurely in a country’s war against it. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Arden performed the hongi, a few weeks ago, presumably in a bid to show the world that their countries were safe. But, today, the virus is troubling Australia, again. Brisbane and Gold Coast have been locked down, and the army is patrolling Sydney to ensure that travel restrictions are fully enforced. The US also made the mistake of lowering its guard after a successful vaccination campaign. It now has a resurgence of coronavirus to contend with; the daily infection rate is expected to reach 300,000 soon. The Delta variant has also caused China’s Covid-19 defences to collapse with a surge in infections even in cities declared coronavirus-free. Japan has extended the state of emergency to more areas. This is what the Delta variant is capable of.

It is against this backdrop that the Sri Lankan government’s decision to make all state employees report for work with effect from yesterday should be viewed. When all public sector employees start going to work, buses and trains will be chock-a-block, and the transmission of coronavirus will receive a turbo boost.

True, the country cannot afford to remain closed indefinitely, and it has to be reopened to revive its ailing economy. But caution should be exercised when restrictions are removed. It would have been prudent for the government to stagger the reopening of public institutions. The state sector, which is terribly overstaffed, may be able to maintain its performance at a reasonable level with about one half of its workforce. Some processes in the public sector can be streamlined technologically to make them less labour intensive.

The government says that most of the state employees have been vaccinated against Covid-19, and are therefore safe, but the fact remains that breakthrough infections are on the rise, and the vaccinated people could also transmit the virus, albeit at a lower rate.

Chances are that the ongoing protests by teachers will not be over anytime soon. Infections could fan out through protesting teachers, most of whom are said to be fully vaccinated. When teachers return home after taking part in protests, they may infect their families and friends. It took only a single infected cook to land a whole village in the soup, the other day, in the Kalutara district. Nearly 90 persons contracted Covid-19 thanks to him, according to media reports.

The government deserves praise for its hitherto successful vaccination programme, but unfortunately it is driving trade unions to launch street protests and thereby boost the transmission of the Delta variant. It has got its priorities all mixed up. What possessed it to present the Kotelawala National Defence University (KNDU) bill amidst an unprecedented national health emergency, and provoke other stakeholders into taking to the streets?

The focus of the government and the Opposition should be on beating the virus and reviving the economy. Even the existing national universities lack resources and are struggling to maintain standards. They remain closed due to the pandemic. It defies comprehension why on earth the government is in a mighty hurry to upgrade the defence university at this juncture.

The government should seriously consider putting the KNDU bill on hold, and the protesting teachers ought to stop street demonstrations and opt for talks with the government to have their salary issues sorted out. Unless the spread of the Delta variant is stopped forthwith, the country will have to be closed again. The economy, which is already on oxygen support, will not survive another round of lockdowns; the government will be left without any funds for any university, and the protesting teachers will not receive even their salaries. All workers including those in the private sector and their families will have to starve in such an eventuality. This is the danger that the government and the protesters are exposing the country to. They are the friends of the virus.