Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said the joint letter by opposition parties set a conducive environment for the government to build a national consensus, that will help navigate this critical period ensuring people’s safety, and duly re-open sectors vital to economic recovery such as manufacturing and construction.

Although the letter is addressed to President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the latter is yet to respond to the joint request by political parties in the opposition.

Opposition parties have maintained that the people should be exposed to a severe public health risk by holding the Parliamentary election on June 20. They state that there will not be a suitable environment in the country to hold a Parliamentary election in the next two months.

The opposition parties have assured that the President will support the measures undertaken by the government to curtail the COVID19 outbreak in the country once Parliament is reconvened. The party leaders have stated that they have demonstrated their good faith by supporting the "curfew" although it has not been legally enforced in the country.

The party leaders have also expressed concerns about the rising number of COVID19 patients in the country.