LNP -50% of people show no interest in getting booster doses: PHIU

Fifty percent of the public do not come forward to get their booster doses assuming there is no risk of COVID presently in the country, Public Health Officers’ (PHI) union Head Upul Rohana said.

He told the Daily Mirror that the daily COVID positive case announcements was misleading the public and had projected a picture that the COVID pandemic had been brought under control and therefore, people were behaving very carelessly and showing ignorance in following health guidelines.

However, at the grassroots level of society, the situation was getting worse.

“The government used to announce the daily COVID positive cases between 500 and 600, and the daily COVID tests had reached 6,000 per day. But the data announced daily by the relevant authorities are not accurate,” he said.

However, in the wake of the COVID pandemic, the public’s behaviour over the long weekend was very disappointing, and we noticed people behaving badly, violating COVID rules, Rohana said.

He said at the recently concluded cricket matches, fans were seen mostly without face-masks and did not maintain social distance.

With the inaccurate announcements on daily positive cases, people are complacent that the country has brought the pandemic situation under control. This complacency leads people to behave carelessly.

Therefore, there is a risk of COVID positive cases escalating in the country very soon and the responsibility for dragging the country to such a catastrophic situation should be borne by the health authorities and the government, Rohana added