Growing fatalities and misleading claims - EDITORIAL

A little over a month ago —4 October 2020— a new outbreak of the Coronavirus was detected at a Brandix factory in Minuwangoda. It was, at that time, referred to as the ‘Brandix Cluster’. At that time the country had a total 7,872 confirmed cases of the virus. A total 3,803 victims had recovered and 13 persons had succumbed to the disease.  
By yesterday (15 November 2020) according to statistics of the Health Promotion Bureau, Sri Lanka has a total of 17,127 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 58 deaths. 

The reality is that, within the space of one-and-a-half months or six weeks, the number of cases of coronavirus in the country spiked from 7,872 between March to October to 17,127 cases between October and November! The number of deaths increased fourfold to 58.
Curiously today, we do not hear of the ‘Brandix Cluster’ any longer. The company Brandix is never mentioned by health authorities when referring to the second wave of the coronavirus. Instead, we hear of the Peliyagoda Fish Market Cluster.

Even more curious is the inane bleating of civil health authorities that the virus has not reached the level of Community Spread
However, the premier doctors’ association reports the disease is now spreading in the community. The public is left wondering whether we are in ‘Trumpland’ or in Lewis Caroll’s ‘Wonderland’.
Bringing to mind pronouncements of the US, the incumbent President, who despite medical evidence to the contrary, including over 245,000 deaths caused by the Coronavirus and over 11 million persons having contracted the virus in that country, still denies his country is in the middle of a pandemic.
Who is fooling whom, and for what reason?

Worldwide, more than 54 million people have been infected by the virus and more than 1.31 million have succumbed to the disease. To make matters worse, on October 7, the World Bank (WB), had even more depressing news. 
According to WB estimates as many as 150 million persons will fall into the category of ‘Extremely Poor’ by 2021. The report adds the Covid-19 pandemic will push an additional 88 million people into extreme poverty this year, with the total rising to 150 million by 2021. 

Extreme poverty is defined by the WB are those persons living on less than $ 1.90 or Rs 350.17 per day. The report reveals around one-tenth of the world’s population lives on $ 1.90 or Rs 390.17 per day. Close to a quarter of the world’s population live below the $ 3.20 line (Rs 1,120.54 per day) and more than 40% of the world’s population—almost 3.3 billion people— live below the $ 5.50 line (Rs.1,925.94 per day).
According to WB projections, the Covid-19 pandemic will force 150 million people into extreme poverty globally, and South Asia will bear the biggest share—between 49 and 57 million of them.
Social scientist Rajan Philips points out that based on these projections, Sri Lanka would likely have about 500,000 people driven to extreme poverty by the pandemic.

Sri Lanka’s tourist industry generates a large slice of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. Today over 150,000 persons are directly and indirectly involved in the tourist trade. Unfortunately, the tourist trade has been badly hit by the virus and is expected to generate a mere USD 1.5 billion revenue for 2020. This is an almost a 50% revenue loss from 2019. Sri Lanka earned USD 4.4 billion from tourism in 2018, with revenue up 12% on the USD 3.9 billion of 2017.
Can the government manage these crises? 

Covid-19 numbers are rising rapidly. Health authorities and medical personnel/experts seemingly contradict each other. Poverty is spreading and growing joblessness is adding to public confusion and suspicion. 
The recent lack of success in combatting the Coronavirus, growing hunger among poorer sections of the population and fear of unemployment is leading to people losing faith in their leaders.
It is time the country’s leader—the President—took the people into his confidence and revealed the true state of affairs in the country. A failure to do this will only add grist to the rumour mill. Non-medical personnel making pronouncements on medical matters, do not breed confidence.
It merely exposes growing incompetence.