The Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA) has said that the COVID-19 pandemic has reached its peak in Sri Lanka and that either strict travel restrictions or quarantine curfew is required for 14-days to control the situation.
GMOA Secretary - Dr. Senal Fernando says that the prevailing provincial travel restrictions are not sufficient.
He was speaking at a media briefing in Colombo.
He emphasises that the need to impose strict travel restrictions for 14-days is the view of all health specialists including that of the GMOA.
He also said that the GMOA hoped to formally request the President to impose strict travel restrictions for 14-days.
Regardless of statistics, the rate of new cases being reported has increased rapidly, Dr. Senal said, adding that a 1,000 bed inter-treatment centre would need to be inaugurated every 4-6 hours if this continues.
Noting that increasing the number of beds alone cannot combat the situation, Dr. Senal said that a grave situation would occur if the caseload increases in a manner that is beyond the capacity of the trained medical staff.
If increasing the number of beds was a solution, countries such as the US and UK could have curbed the pandemic, Dr. Senal said, adding that the decisions taken in the next few days would be absolutely crucial.
The GMOA secretary also expressed the association's displeasure over the irregularities that prevailed in the vaccination programme.
(Mirror)