Sri Lanka’s health and military authorities continued to send mixed signals about the outbreak of COVID19 in the country leaving the public in utter confusion.

Army Commander and head of the COVID19 task force Lt. General Shavendra Silva said there was no risk of emerging new clusters in the country except for the remaining ones which are being brought under control.

it is unclear as to how the military can give such an assurance as the situation in Sri Lanka seems to be highly volatile.

The Health Ministry, on the same day, alarmed the public that new subclusters could emerge from various parts of the country if the movement of the public is not minimized. The ministry made it clear that the movement of the public from high-risk areas to low-risk areas should be stopped with immediate effect in order to bring the pandemic under control.

These contradictory remarks came amidst serious concerns raised by some on the “outsized” role played by the military on the COVID19 management.

Many parties including medical experts have indicated that explaining the medical aspect of the pandemic control should be assigned to the Health Ministry spokespersons with the military playing a supporting role.

However, the latest developments indicate that these roles have been switched in Sri Lanka leaving the public in utter confusion about the current state of affairs in the country on the pandemic management front.