The Government has reached out to overseas Sri Lankans for financial as well as other forms of assistance to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
Taking into account the enormity of the tasks at hand and the numerous limitations on the ground, the Foreign Ministry has reached out to Overseas Sri Lankans (OSLS) and to Friends of Sri Lanka, with a view to enlisting their support and contributions in kind and other forms toward their fellow Sri Lankans affected by the pandemic, on a voluntary basis.
As part of the appeal, the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Washington DC said that it, together with the Sri Lanka Permanent Mission in New York and the Consulate General Office in Los Angeles, is in the process of coordinating such voluntary donation of relief items, for the treatment of the COVID-19 infected persons in hospitals and augmenting facilities around the country.
“Already several groups in the US have channelled assistance in this regard, including in collaboration with the Consul General in Los Angeles, for which the Embassy is most grateful,” the Sri Lankan Embassy in the US said.
The Embassy said that the Ministry of Health has indicated that the immediate need is for ventilators, oxygen concentrators, high flow oxygen units, multi-parameter monitors, PPES including N95 masks, telemedicine platforms which could be used by medical professionals in Sri Lanka. (Daily Mirror)