• Asks them to be more considerate of the pandemic
• Urges the President and government to initiate a dialogue to resolve the crisis 

By Sheain Fernandopulle

Two medical experts’ bodies- the Association of Medical Specialists (AMS) and Sri Lanka Medical Association- urged the teacher trade unions to refrain from organising public protest campaigns these days for the sake of public health in the midst of the pandemic. 

Association of Medical Specialists (AMS) President Dr. Lakkumar Fernando requested the teacher trade unions and organisations with respect to focus on the ‘marauding spike in COVID-19 infections with the deadly Delta variant.

“With the ever surging numbers of COVID-19 cases and mortalities, we all should be more considerate of ordinary citizens than the politicians in a more pragmatic approach. If the pandemic reaches catastrophic levels (we think it is already on the rampage) our crafty politicians may even frame teachers as solely responsible for generating “Delta clusters” and we sense that they have already started working on this,” he said.

Dr. Fernando also urged the President and the government to consider the reasonable demands of Principals and teachers in a favourable manner and initiate a dialogue at the highest level to resolve this crisis.