16 July 2021 07:21 pm Views - 2042
There is a rapid decrease in the number of childbirths in the country due to the COVID epidemic, Indigenous Medicine Promotion State Minister Sisira Jayakody said.
He told the Daily Mirror that the COVID epidemic, COVID infections in pregnant women and considering their deaths caused the decrease in childbirths.
The Minister pointed out that the main reason for the said issue was not holding wedding ceremonies following travel restrictions imposed to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
"Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and imposed restrictions by the government, a scheduled 750,000 wedding ceremonies have not taken place during the past two years. When considering the population growth in the country, this will be an issue for the future, "the State Minister said.
He said about 350,000 child births occur in a year. But since there were no marriages took place during the past two years, the number of child births too came down drastically to nearly 100,000, Minister Jayakody said.
"About 3,600 people have died from the corona pandemic. But about 350,000 unborn children have lost that opportunity.
Therefore, relaxing travel restrictions while permitting to hold wedding ceremonies is a better decision taken by the government to reduce the number of child births in a year. The repercussions of this issue will be faced by the country in the years 2025 and 2026, the State Minister added. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)