Conference 2021 Poster Presentation
Project title
Impacts of COVID-19 and controlling pandemics : A Sri Lankan scenario
Authors and Affiliations
Judy Mathushika1, Chandrika Nanayakara1,Yadurshini Raveendran2
1. Department of Plant sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
2. FHI Clinical Inc., United States
Abstract
Background
Globally, COVID-19 continues to progress through the world, with 213 countries affected till date due to the disease. As of 20th October 2020, a total of 5,811 confirmed cases, 3,457 recoveries, and 13 deaths have been reported in Sri Lanka. As a developing country, Sri Lanka was badly hit during the pandemics due to the overall economic consequences and damage caused by the disease, which can directly affect the living community and lead to long term complications.
Methods
An online questionnaire and in-depth telephone interviews were performed for the collection of the related primary data, as this study was a rapid assessment of the implications of COVID-19 and the whole country was locked down during the research period. A sample of 750 households was selected and 687 functional responses were obtained, covering 16 Sri Lankan administrative districts. In terms of narrative research, experts and practitioners in various sectors of the economy were consulted and their perspectives were considered. Secondary data sources were utilized from the World Health Organization, The Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the Tourism Development Board, and the Chamber of Commerce.
Results
Survey data reveals that approximately 55% of households did not anticipate any kind of assistance while 6% dropped to indebtedness and 7%lost their entire job opportunity due to COVID-19. The estimated losses up to USD 1,400 million was stated in the textiles and garment industry and production capacity declined by 50% in the retail and consumer industry as 45% of the Sri Lankan export market depends on the United States, which is the world’s most troubled country by COVID-19. Limiting importation, starting promotional programs internationally for tourism, local products and education opportunities in Sri Lanka and introducing compulsory saving schemes for government workers can help in regaining economy whereas, research and development in health care, e-healthcare system and establishing a global health monitoring system can be used as controlling strategies in preventing future pandemics.
Conclusions
Sri Lanka being a developing country, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the households and diverse sectors of economy. However, this can be mitigated effectively and efficiently by the government implementing proper policies and strategies and the public responsibly following the guidelines and supporting the government.
