Healthcare workers at Mankulam hospital held a protest yesterday over the severe impact on the medical sector due to the dire economic situation. 

Staff at the hospital staged the protest demanding the Sri Lankan government to not "play with people's lives" and address the worsening shortage of life-saving medicines. 

Sri Lanka, which is facing one of its worst economic crises, has been unable to secure foreign exchange to import essential goods, including fuel and medicine. As a result, Sri Lanka has been rationing its supply of fuel, which has led to long queues at petrol stations and daily power cuts. 

The severe shortage of medicines and medical tools coupled with routine power cuts has left healthcare workers with little to treat patients effectively.  Yesterday, Sri Lanka's Medical Association stated that the medical crisis created by the debiliting economy may lead to a death toll higher than the coronavirus pandemic. 

“All Sri Lankan hospitals are on the verge of collapse,” Dr Senal Fernando, secretary at the Government Medical Officers Association told Al Jazeera.  “The situation will deteriorate in the next two weeks and people will start dying if action is not taken now.”

Sri Lanka has turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and sought credit lines from India, China and Bangladesh to secure the supply of essential goods. Sri Lanka and the IMF are set to begin talks next week on how the island will restructure their debts.