COLOMBO : The government may lockdown the country only if doctors recommend so, State Minister of Production, Supply, and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasumana said here on Sunday, August 15.
The State Minister, speaking to the media in Anuradhapura, pointed out that the government makes all decisions based on the advice of medical experts.
However, doctors have not yet recommended that the country should be shut down to control the COVID-19 epidemic, he added.
“There is an Epidemiology Unit, there is a Presidential Task Force on COVID-19. Apart from them, there are a number of other academic institutions and trade unions. We are obliged to implement the official recommendations given to us.
But there are some people who work as pawns in political forces. They want to overthrow the government.
If we receive official advice and recommendations from the health sector to lockdown the country, we will not hesitate to implement it. But, people who live on a daily wage need to have a system. “
State Minister Prof. Jayasumana further stated that the people should impose self-travel restrictions in the face of the pandemic.