COVID has been an on-going global issue now for nearly 2 years and whilst it is understandable that some countries may struggle with trying to contain outbreaks whether that's due to a lack of funding or resources or other genuine reasons.

But what is happening over in Sri Lanka is far from “genuine”, many innocent lives are being lost over there due to the incompetence of the Sri Lankan government something which I can hope we can change together.

Sri Lanka managed to control the first wave of the pandemic which was mainly credited to widely spread testing system. Unfortunately the situation has turned upside down in Sri Lanka now as they are experiencing over 200 deaths every day. This situation is becoming more abysmal by the day as the country is losing around 1,500 lives during past 7 days.

Yet all deaths are heartbroken, my deepest concern goes out to the children who lost their lives to covid. Sri Lanka recorded about 50 deaths of young children and 40 deaths of pregnant mothers. It’s really devastating to learn that most of these cases, the poor parents don’t even know the cause until after their passing as symptoms of COVID 19 are not always recognisable.

Getting a COVID test could easily prevent most of these deaths as cases could be identified much earlier and the right treatment could be administered. One of the issues I hope that we can fix is the availability of test kits around the country. The price of an antigen test in Sri Lanka is Rs2000 (around £8.50), a ridiculous price to pay for something that is offered for free in various other countries. If anyone needs a PCR to be done that cost Rs. 6,500 (£27.50)

In the present world, rapid antigen test kits and rapid flow test kits are widely available to buy for a competitive price yet in Sri Lankan the government has tightened up this into a single supplier to provide these tests meaning that it isn't easily accessible to get your hands on these even if you did happen to have the money.

There is a substantial amount of people living in poverty in Sri Lanka and with the recent revelations of COVID and its effects; this number has most likely increased drastically with many businesses being forced to close for long periods of time putting people out of work. These citizens are the ones who suffer the most from these issues as they can barely afford tomorrow’s meal yet alone a COVID-19 test.

Test, Test and Test is a proven method to control a covid outbreak but due to the cost of the testing and its unavailability would cause many innocent people to succumb to COVID.

Therefore I am requesting that the Sri Lankan government either asks assistance from other accessibility for citizens of Sri Lanka to get their hands on these tests at a more affordable price by allowing there to be more than one seller hence causing the market price to drop. Actions like this shows the present day classism that still exists and the lack of humility from the Sri Lankan government by praying on the innocent rather than helping out the residents of the country for the greater good,

By signing for this petition I hope we can make the positive change that is so desperately needed for the people of Sri Lanka and demonstrate to the rest of the world that we won’t go silent whenever inequalities are around