“However, the Sri Lankan government will do well not to allow the advantage secured in the war against the Corona virus to be wiped out by opening too soon and without a far-sighted strategy. Statistics coming out from the global Covid battle fronts do not allow for clear tactical assessments as government’s battle a first-time enemy.

“There is some hindsight coming from the Spanish Flu of 1918-20, the most compelling at this time being the fact that the virus reemerged several times until a vaccination finally defeated it. Most interventions to the pandemic at present seem to be happening based on assumptions as researchers look for string evidence.“We believe the credit should go to the government for sensing the magnitude of the impending threat to human life early and quickly mobilizing the security forces to combat COVID19 under the knowledge and expertise of Sri Lankan medical professionals.” Sri Lanka must now approach the re-opening of the country with calculated caution yet find the courage to seize the opportunity to correct-course. Analysts around the world are putting Western democracies and their response to the pandemic under the microscope against that of countries like China, Singapore and yes, Sri Lanka.