Failure to make appropriate decision deteriorated situation: GMOA

Highlighting the cause for the current COVID-19 outbreak in the country, General Secretary of the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) Dr. Haritha Aluthge said that the failure to make appropriate decision at the correct time is the main reason for the current situation in the country.

“The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the overreaction is better than the delayed reaction, but in Sri Lanka we always see a delayed reaction when it comes to decision-making at this pandemic situation. It is a sad situation,” Dr. Aluthge said.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, he said that the country is currently on the verge of community transmission and managing the present situation to prevent community spread is the biggest challenge the country is facing presently.

“There is no shame in overreacting to prevent the spreading of COVID-19 because it’s different; it spreads more rapidly, including via asymptomatic hosts. When it strikes hard, there is a need of ICU treatments for the patients and at once it can also overcrowd hospitals,” he said.

Dr. Aluthge said that the country had reported three COVID-19 related deaths within a short period, after emerging the two main clusters and the situation could turn worse, if community transmission is not prevented.

“What we can expect from this situation is, if we yet failed to make right decisions on time, there could be a rise in unusual deaths within next couple of months,” he said.(Yoshitha Perera)