KATHMANDU: Sri Lanka, an island nation in South Asia, has kept its COVID-19 cases at bay as the country’s testing rate coupled with its healthcare and surveillance system, has proved effective.

The country has been doing remarkably well when it comes to containing the spread of the infection because it has identified health and education as an investment, not an expenditure.

Sri Lanka initiated the “Trace, Trace and Test” strategy, which has been a modified form of the WHO recommended “Test, Test and Test” strategy.

Moreover, its approach to minimizing the spread of coronavirus began with movement restriction.

Sri Lanka is among the privileged group of few countries that have successfully managed and controlled Covid-19 pandemic, and the credit goes to all the hard work and commitment showcased by the Sri Lankans.

The country has had only 91 cases per 1 million population, a total of 11 Covid-19 casualties, and absolutely no cases in the community for over two months since 30th April 2020.

The need for risk communication, rumor mitigation, and preparedness for the potential future battle was timely identified by the Ministry of Health and related organizations.

If the latest report is to be considered, the total Covid-19 cases in Sri-Lanka are 2,902 where 2,675 patients have won the battle against Covid-19.

Sri-Lanka has been containing and controlling the spread of Covid-19 even with the GDP for the health of only 3.81% and a population of 21 million.

Even during the worst of the time, Sri Lanka successfully conducted a Parliamentary election on the 5th of August 2020.

This was certainly not possible without the equal effort of both the government and the public.

Let us look at how is Sri-Lanka so successful in its containment of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Quick Start in Preparedness

Sri Lanka was never negligent about the possible impact of Covid-19 when the virus took the whole world’s attention on December 31st, 2019.

Since then, Sri Lanka was alert and quick enough to act on this fact and information and future circulating rumors.

The need for risk communication, rumor mitigation, and preparedness for the potential future battle was timely identified by the Ministry of Health and related organizations.

For this, on the 9th of January 2020, an influenza steering committee was formed where global health issues are discussed.

Alongside, the number of quarantine centers and people quarantine rapidly increased with proper services being provided by the health staff.

The committee discussed the ongoing epidemic and preparedness plan. Similarly, a presidential task force was speedily appointed during the last week of January 2020 with multi-sectoral involvement and related stakeholders identified at all levels.

A National Covid-19 center was established which streamlined activities to the other 10 committees.

While the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a pandemic, Sri Lanka was already on full alert with counteractive measures.

Hence, by the time the first local patient was recognized positive for Covid-19 on 9th March 2020, some important things like a regular press release with real information’s from the Ministry of Health and identified key spokesperson started on the first place.

This certainly helped to gain the trust of the general public on disseminated government information.

The plans and programs to fight Covid-19 went hand in hand with coordination and cooperation among the ruling political party, government, health trifocals and the media.

Ports of Entry and Contact Tracing

Realizing the fact that Covid-19 is basically an imported virus, Sri Lanka, in early March implemented a strong mechanism to safeguard all ports of entry against the import of the virus.

The information regarding Covid-19 was disseminated in 3 languages including in Chinese for the convenience of Chinese tourists and immigrants staying in Sri Lanka.

Every new immigrant was quarantined with free quarantine facility from the government.

Similarly, one of the major acts that are a surveillance mechanism and contact tracing mechanism was effectively implemented linking ports of entries by the epidemiology unit of the Ministry of Health and provincial health authorities.

The health services were easily accessible and just a phone call away from medical officers who delivered very efficient and effective personalized service.

Quarantine and contact tracing were one of the most successful activities conducted by the government. Likewise, the disaster management system also had a major role in Covid-19 management and containment.

Quarantine facilities

One of the prime factors for Sri Lanka’s Covid-19 success was the proper quarantine mechanism.

Earlier before the Covid-19 was declared a pandemic, the travelers arriving from high alert countries were mandatorily quarantined on arrival in a quarantine center for 14 days and home quarantine was allowed for the citizens.

However, as soon as the Covid-19 was declared as a pandemic, all arrivals were immediately shifted to special quarantine centers.

The services here were provided completely free of charge with welcoming hospitality and humanity to all.

Alongside, the number of quarantine centers and people quarantine rapidly increased with proper services being provided by the health staff.

Identification of Concerned Hospitals

Hospitals were identified and allocated for treating Covid-19 patients since the beginning of time. Even before the identification of the first Covid-19 case, triage for fever patients was done in every hospital of every district of Sri Lanka.

The staffers there were very competent in case management and infection testing.

Later, 16 other hospitals were added for the Covid-19 management and strengthened rapidly with the speedy expansion of the hospital network.

Interestingly, the hospital staff also communicated to the media encouraging the public to stay home and mandatorily take necessary precautions.

Covid-19 Testing and Free ambulance Service

Sri Lanka was one of the first Asian countries to detect the infection of Covid-19 through Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.

Its capacity was initially established within the country at the concerned medical research institution and significantly scaled up till the provincial level.

The county knew the necessity to increase the PCR tests which has helped to contain the virus.

Similarly, free ambulance services were provided throughout the country for anyone reporting Covid-19 related symptoms.

Support of Mass Media

The significance of the role of mass media can be seen in the case of Sri Lanka. Massive mass media support to the government was vital for correct information flow and myth-busting.

Time with millions of rupees advertisement along with songs related to the Covid-19 was showcased by the mass media which was very effective to make aware the general public.

Closure of Schools and Offices

All the schools around the country were closed within a day of identification of the first local Covid-19 patient.

This contributed to lessening the risk community transmission and prevent the transmission to the elder citizens as many Sri Lankans practice joint family system.

Education got on board very quickly with effective online classes. Likewise, work from home was encouraged by the government in every sector with flexible working hours to reduce stress.

Services during Lockdown

The door-to-door delivery services of essential goods such as food and medicine were promoted and initiated. Even the banking services were commenced this way.

The postal services were well utilized during this time for door-to-door delivery of prescribed medicines from government hospitals with an online order from pharmacies.

Also, the pension funds were delivered to the elder citizens from the door-to-door service along with the provision to visit the bank on designated days to obtain the pension.

Economic Reliefs and International Support

The insecure daily wage earners and other vulnerable households of the country were provided with regular social welfare payments.

Many volunteers and organizations got together to distribute food relief and essential item packages to vulnerable families.

Similarly, support of the divisional secretaries was quite valuable in the said process.

Alongside, various donors such as WHO, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Government of Australia, the United States Department of Defense and the Embassy of Korea in Sri Lanka were of great help in controlling the spread of Covid-19.

Public Support and Behavior Adaptation

Covid-19 prevention and containment were only possible with the public support to the government’s decision.

The general public was immensely supportive by adapting all the precautions sincerely. Social distancing has become a norm in Sri Lanka which has contributed to preventing the spread of the virus.

Sri Lanka has proved that Covid-19 can be defeated if both the government and the general public get responsible for their duties. The mechanism followed by Sri Lanka is something every country should adopt.

Even major celebrations during this time are being confined to households. People being responsible is one of the key factors to control the spread of Covid-19 in Sri Lanka.

The provision of PPE and other protective measures that were urgent need was supported innovatively by the general public.

Not only supporting the citizens in need, but Sri Lankans also showed humanity by supporting and providing helping hands to the foreigners stranded in Sri Lanka.

Lessons to be learned

Sri Lanka’s journey of defeating Covid-19 is remarkable and something we all have been praying to achieve.

This was possible for Sri Lanka with vital components such as free health, free education, high literacy, a strong public health system, a supportive government, and determining public support.

Sri Lanka has proved that Covid-19 can be defeated if both the government and the general public get responsible for their duties. The mechanism followed by Sri Lanka is something every country should adopt.

Defeating Covid-19 is not impossible if the government and public get determined to do it. For Nepal, the case of Sri Lanka is a learning lesson.

Both the government and the public should be serious about the measures to take. This will certainly lead to success in the journey of the fight against Covid-19.

The war with the virus will continue for years to come, and it will test our resilience and endurance as a country to uphold this achievement until COVID-19 is eliminated.

Hence, let us not panic, but instead, encourage the government to bring such a strong mechanism to defeat Covid-19 here.