28 January 2020 08:20 pm
The Ven. Ittapane Dhammalankara Thera and Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said today that people should not spread unnecessary fear among the people about the coronavirus and urged the government to take effective steps to prevent the spread of the disease by postponing public functions and closing of schools if the need arises.
They said this after the positive detection of the first patient infected with the virus on Monday.
The Thera called for an awareness programme among the people about the disease while the Cardinal said all catholic schools would be closed should such a need arise.
“There is no need to close schools just yet will follow any steps taken by the education authorities,” the Cardinal said.
The Thera said people should vigilant about the food they consume. “Parents are known to buy the breakfast for their children unlike in the past when it was prepared at home. Better not to buy food for the children from outside,” he said.
The Cardinal said there was no need to take an aggressive stand on China because it has not spread the disease deliberately. “We too may face similar situations when wee go abroad now that the disease has been found here as well,” he said and added that a person should not be isolated just because he or she develops a cold or a fever.
They asked that masks which were in short supply be made available for the use of the people and welcomed moves by the government to repatriate the Sri Lankan students in China.(Yohan Perera)