Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, has called for a partial lift of the state-imposed lockdown, which aimed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, to maintain the economy.
Wickremesinghe’s statement came yesterday as he raised concerns over Sri Lanka’s testing program stating:
“I do not know whether Sri Lanka has necessary equipment to carry out testing. Government actually failed to get testing equipment, ventilators and face masks initially”
During the press conference, Wickremesinghe insisted that the current measures adopted by Sri Lanka’s Central Bank were insufficient and that further steps were needed. He called on the government to do the following;
“The first is to amend the Vote on Account to suit the current situation as the previously passed Vote on Account will not be sufficient.
The second is that we must take the maximum from the packages offered by the International Monetary Fund. The International Monetary Fund is set to announce their relief packages in mid-April.
The third is to consider the future and create a broader economic plan to cover the sectors I mentioned”.
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