Sri Lanka government has been urged to form an expert advisory panel consisting experts in infectious diseases, pediatrics, emergency medicine and internal medicine, economic experts, disaster management specialists to take decisions and make guidance regarding Covid-19 mitigation and prevention strategies for mass gatherings, civil society activists said.
They predicted that the country will have to fight against the Covid-19 outbreak for at least six more months to bring the situation under control.
This expert panel should be directed to meet daily to discuss any changes and impacts of COVID-19 and issue necessary instructions to government authorities to combat the disease, hey suggested.
This will prevent the authorities from taking ad hoc decisions without collective responsibility while this panel will be able to undertake dynamic risk assessments of potential health and other impacts, using the best available scientific advice and evidence to inform decision-making.
Civil society activists have also proposed to the government to set up an Operations Center for enhanced response coordination, provided symptom monitoring for residents returning to the country from corona virus affected countries.
The forming of a national expert panel and the setting up of an Operations Center could be useful in taking important decisions and implementing quarantine programmes and he supply of essential services in the coming months.
Issuing a statement former speaker Karu Jayasuriya noted that collective decisions of such a national expert panel had helped several countries to overcome challenges of pandemics such as Covid-19.
It will help to limit the spread of disinformation, which refers to the deliberate creation and spread of false or manipulated information intended to deceive and mislead audiences, he pointed out.
(LI)