COVID-19: Sri Lanka fares better than other SAARC countries
How is Sri Lanka, with arguably the best public health system in the SAARC region, tackling the spread of the coronavirus spread? The statistics say quite well - when compared with its neighbours in the region.
The country discovered its first case of COVID-19 on 27th January last year, when a 44 year-old female tourist from China tested positive. After the patient recovered and returned to China, the first confirmed COVID-19 case involving a Sri Lankan citizen (a tour guide), was reported in March 2020. Hereto, tourism unwittingly played a ‘carrier’ role, when he caught it after coming in contact with a group of Italian visitors.
While it appeared that the country’s fight against the pandemic was tightly managed, all hell broke loose after two clusters were reported in October’20. This resulted in Sri Lanka ramping up its daily testing to over 10,000 against the 2,000 – 3,000 tests it was carrying out prior to October. Gradually, the fight to contain the spread has led to somewhat of a recovery.
As of 26th March 2021:
* Deaths per 100,000 people
The past data for new cases is a three day rolling average. Due to revisions in the number of cases, an average cannot be calculated for this date.
Source: Johns Hopkins University, national public health agencies and UN population data Figures last updated: 26 March 2021, 09:44 GMT.
Overall, as the total global count of cases surpasses 125 million, the death toll in India is currently the highest within the Asian region– in fact it is the third highest in the World, after the US and Brazil. Despite this, the proportion of people who die after falling ill in India, remains low compared to the global average.
Deaths recorded elsewhere in South Asia are lower than in many other parts of the world, both in terms of absolute numbers and per capita figures. While this is encouraging, questions linger about the reliability of data – particularly in a region where there is so little spent on public health, and where the level of testing in the S.A countries, which some public health experts’ claim, is far lower than in other countries.
Virologist Dr Shahid Jameel points out that the “total number of cases per million in South Asian countries are low, but so is the number of tests per million”. On the other hand, Professor Kamran Siddiqi, a public health expert at the University of York, states “Even if the deaths and other figures are under-reported, the difference from the other areas of the world is noticeable’. Going on to add, “The most plausible explanation is that the populations in South Asia are made up of far younger people than say in Europe and the US”.
Ilzaf Keefahs is a freelance writer who enjoys focusing on hospitality related matters that he is passionate about, and likes to share his views with hoteliers and customers alike. He delves into the heart of hospitality to figure out both customer service and consumer trends that impact the industry.
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