Relaxing travel restrictions is “adding fuel to fire”, medical experts raise concerns

The Association of Medical Specialists (AMS), raising concerns over the rapid spread of Delta variant in the country, has urged the government to revisit its COVID-19 restriction protocols.

In a statement, Chairman of AMS, Dr. Lakkumar Fernando pointed out that the capacity of healthcare system to accommodate oxygen-dependent patients has virtually reached its tipping point now. With the Delta variant being more commonly detected, there is an increasing number of new infections and an exponential rise in the number of oxygen-dependent patients, he added.

With the increasing demand for supplemental oxygen, it will be only a matter of days before it exceeds the supply, he stressed, noting that this will lead to a surge in the death toll.

Relaxation of travel restrictions in this backdrop is similar to “adding fuel to the fire”, Dr. Fernando said further in the AMS statement.

The association also expressed its disappointment with the silence of the professionals who act as advisory and advocacy personnel for their lack of courage to inform the decision-makers of the truth and realities of the ground situation.

Relaxing travel restrictions should have commenced after the country achieved the vaccination targets along with declining number of daily cases of COVID-19, Dr. Fernando went on.

Taking the current grim situation into account, the AMS appealed to the government to revisit its pandemic restriction protocols in the wake of surging virus figures.