People have let their guard down – PHIs

‘Beware of another spike’

By Rathindra Kuruwita

People were ignoring good health practices a few days after the lifting of the lockdown, President of the Public Health Inspectors’ Union said yesterday.

Rohana said that the PHIs across the country had reported that the public compliance of health rules was low and that the government must take action to rectify the situation.

“People are not adhering to health guidelines when they use public transport and visiting public places. Some work places have ignored the health guidelines issued by the government,” he said, adding that there was the danger of another wave of infection unless the public acted responsibly.

Rohana said that adequate buses were not on the road and people were compelled to take any bus that comes. Given that some offices had called almost everyone back to work, a significant amount of people are back on the road.

“The government must try to increase the number of buses on the road or try to encourage working from home. However, people also behave irresponsibly and we worry that all the factors would culminate in another spike in cases. Most people have just let their guard down and think everything will be fine because of the vaccination rate,” he said.

President of the Public Health Inspectors’ Union said that 45% of the people were not fully vaccinated and the youth were reluctant to be vaccinated. Moreover, a significant number of Sri Lankans had noncommunicable diseases and were vulnerable to COVID-19 despite being vaccinated, Rohana said.