No country safe from second wave of COVID-19 if health guidelines ignored

• Strict health guidelines to be in place for considerable time  
• Majority of Sri Lankans not immune to COVID-19  
• We crushed the spread early so we have to ensure it does not come back

By JAMILA HUSAIN  

Sri Lanka must strictly adhere to health guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation and the Health Ministry, if it wants to prevent a second wave of the COVID-19 as a small segment of society has begun disregarding the seriousness of the virus, Director General of Health Services, Dr. Anil Jasingha told Daily Mirror yesterday.   

• People must maintain this level of care although right now there is no public transmission of the virus

Dr. Jasingha said that a second wave of the coronavirus can hit any country at any time and while Sri Lanka had successfully crushed a public spread of the virus early, it was necessary to adhere to the guidelines as a majority of the citizens were not immune to it.  

“People must maintain this level of care although right now there is no public transmission of the virus. When the virus hit Italy, a majority of their citizens were infected and many are now immune to it. In Sri Lanka we crushed the spread early so we have to ensure it does not come back,” Dr. Jasinghha said.  

He further said that people should now be well groomed with these health guidelines of maintaining social distancing and hand hygiene, as these would stay in place for a considerable period of time. Further he said these measures would be of utmost importance when the airport opens up for foreign travellers on August 1.