Can we afford another lockdown? - EDITORIAL

The Covid-19 is rampaging through the country with 4,596 new cases and 212 deaths reported up until last night (28 August). A total number of persons affected by the virus have risen to 417,000 and 8,157 fatalities, to which the government has decided to extend the quarantine lockdown until September 6.

The latest August 20 lockdown was imposed in an effort to curb the spread of the Coronavirus, as infections and death rates overwhelmed the country’s hospitals, morgues and crematoria. Medical experts and leading prelates of the Buddhist clergy prevailed on the President to enforce the measure a week ago when it recorded its highest single-day death toll of 187 and 3,793 new cases on Wednesday (18 August).

Since then, Reuter’s‘ Covid Tracker’ reports Covid-19 infections are increasing, with 4,913 new infections reported on an average each day. The report added 18,719,417 persons had been administered the vaccine. Assuming two doses are needed per person, it means around 42% of the population have been fully vaccinated. What these stats also reveal is that the lockdown has not brought the numbers down, but with vaccine programme in full swing, it is inevitable that within months these numbers are bound to fall with or without lockdowns.
The question is can we afford the lockdown? The lockdowns brought on by the pandemic has forced untold hardships on thousands with families complaining they do not have enough to eat.

According to stats provided by the Department of Census and Statistics, in the month of April 2020, 1.7 million of our countrymen were given a Rs. 5,000 allowance on the basis of loss of income. This indicates that 1.7 million families lost their source of income. UN statistics confirm the figure. In turn, it means that, over 1/20th of our population have lost the means to feed and educate their children. The BBC yesterday revealed that large sections of Indian children under-12 were finding it difficult to read and write due to their long absence from school due to lockdowns and school closures. With over 73% of the children of our country not having IT facilities, a similar fate could befall the children of Sri Lanka, who too are unable attend school since the pandemic struck. 

Worldwide, Global extreme poverty index is expected to push an additional 88 million to 115 million people into the extreme poverty category, with the total rising to as many as 150 million in 2021. Extreme poverty is defined as living on less than US$1.90 a day ($=200SLR)

However, lockdowns have proved profitable to the super-rich. According to the ‘Washington Post,’ America’s wealthiest had a very different kind of lockdown last year. Billionaire Elon Musk has quintupled his net worth since January (according to estimates put together by Bloomberg) adding US$132 billion to his wealth and vaulting him to the No. 2 spot among the world’s richest with a fortune of about US$159 billion. Fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos’s wealth has grown by roughly US$70 billion over the same period; putting his net worth estimate at roughly US$186 billion as the year came to an end.

All told, the two men increased their net worth by a staggering US$200 billion last year, a sum greater than the gross domestic product (GDP) of 139 countries. Sri Lanka’s own GDP according to the World Bank stood at US$80.71 billion in 2020. Unfortunately, we in Sri Lanka do not keep up with these details and therefore are unable to track who made the most of the past lockdowns. Closer home, Indian conglomerates like the Tata’s and the Ambani’s (Reliance Industries Ltd.) have also made a killing during the pandemic. 

It is a sad commentary on the world’s value system, when the rich of the world are involved in space races or closure of large not-so-profitable worksites at a time large numbers of the world’s children are literally dying of hunger as their parents lose their employment – a fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic. These children also face the prospect of becoming illiterates, as their parents are unable to provide them the means to attend virtual classes.
Today the rulers in countries like Sri Lanka face a Hobson’s choice, lockdown the country and drive millions out of employment, force a closure of small and medium businesses, force millions of children into hunger and illiteracy, or alternatively, open the country and face charges of indifference as millions fall prey to the pandemic.