Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama, Convener of the Sri Lanka Institute of Physicians has expressed his dismay and disappointment in the media and its behaviour relating to the Covid 19 epidemic.
Newspaper journalist Nithya Sewwandi had sought to inquire into the state of the Covid 19 epidemic in the country from Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama only for Wijewickrama to express his disappointment at the current situation.
When contacted by Nithya Sewwandi he had declined to comment saying:
“People have gone to Kegalle to get some syrup. These are happening because of the propaganda done by the media. So it doesn’t matter what we say about other things. It is a waste of time to talk about this. Now the easiest thing to get on TV is to either do something stupid or unconventional. Either you have to eat raw fish. Or when someone comes and says there is some medicine, we have to drink it. Or say I can cure it. It is useless for us to be involved in such media propaganda. The effort to talk about them is also a waste. There is no use”
“These comments show the frustration of a medical professional who played a pivotal role in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic in Sri Lanka, as well as the head of an expert body representing physicians and his reluctance to get involved in what is currently going on”. Nithya noted in her report.
