MANO RATWATTE, USA Courtesy The Island

March 15, 2020, 8:50 pm

Your Sunday paper headlines speak of panic buying in Sri Lanka because of the Coronavirus. 

I can assure you it is no different in the US right now.  Almost all major Walmart and Target type super stores are out of toilet paper and all hand sanitizer products (gels and wipes), and people are buying up nonperishable goods in unusually large quantities. I witnessed that at four stores, when I went to buy my regular groceries for the week. I usually maintain stocks sufficient for one month. So, I did not need to engage in panic buying.  

Consider the pathetic incompetence of the US in responding to the coronavirus outbreak. I closely follow news from my motherland because I still have family and friends there. 

The President and health care professionals in Sri Lanka are doing a far better job than the pathetic inconsistencies of Donald Trump and his government. 

For weeks Trump mocked the concerns about the outbreak as “fake news” and claimed this was no big deal and how by April, when the weather warms up, COVID-19 would die off. He blamed Democrats for creating hysteria.  And then what did he finally do this week, much later? Declare a national emergency.  As of Friday March 13th, less than 15,000 have been tested in contrast to S. Korea and China, where hundreds of thousands have been tested. 

On Friday, President Trump and Pence lied about “1,700 Google engineers are working to launch a website soon”, and took a veiled potshot at the problem with the Obama administration’s rolling out of their health insurance website. Google tweeted their clarification  attached to this email.  Before that, for days he bragged about there being plenty of tests and that millions could get tested if they wanted to. Not so. The local Main OSF hospital in my town has ordered that NO ONE should be tested even if they showed symptoms. He also said insurance companies would waive treatment costs. Another falsehood! 

President Rajapaksa has been professional and not behaved like a thin skinned real estate agent taking potshots, lying, bragging and refusing to take responsibility for anything. When a journalist asked a tough question, Trump bristled by saying it’s a “mean question “.  Really what is that all about? Aren’t journalists supposed to ask tough questions?

Take the massive stock market panic after Trump gave an incoherent rambling address to the nation on Wednesday.  After the emergency was declared, the market had a very good recovery.  He claimed credit for the recovery on Friday, but not for the massive 19% two-day cumulative drop in the Dow Jones Index. 

Poor nations are faced with problems. But I have more faith in Sri Lankan efforts to combat this virus than in Trump’s belated efforts.

Please use common sense such as washing your hands frequently with soap and water. Practice social distancing. Look, the virus came to Sri Lanka from foreign tourists. You already have quarantine facilities and preparedness in place. Listen to the healthcare professionals. Do not spread rumours. Do not speculate. The more vulnerable segments are those over 60 years of age with underlying health problems like diabetes; and the most vulnerable are older people over 80 years of age. Please protect your elders. Do not panic. For younger people, the data shows it will be no worse than the flu.  What you should do if you suspect being infected, is to isolate yourself and STOP BEING SELFISH. 

I tip my hat to President Rajapaksa and his team for their rational logical approach to coping with this serious public health issue. I also thank the healthcare professionals and the military for responding to the crisis.  Learn from China. It’s already helping Italy, which is now ground zero for the pandemic. China and the WHO should be your main sources of information, not the US government.

After all, Billionaire Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma says he is donating 500,000 coronavirus testing kits and one million protective face masks to the United States. The Chinese billionaire already has pledged two million protective masks to European countries. A first shipment of test kits, medical supplies and 500,000 masks intended for Italy, which has been hard-hit by the virus, arrived at Liege Airport in Belgium late Friday. 

Sri Lankans are resilient people. There’s no need for superstition and religious mumbo jumbo, soothsayers and claims of miracle cures.  Appropriate quarantine efforts combined with common sense hygiene are your immediate prescriptions for limiting the spread of this virus in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government did the right thing by banning rallies, meetings, etc. Reduce human contact.  Stop taking rumours seriously.  

MANO RATWATTE, USA