The good, the bad and the deadly: Daily official info flow on COVID

The spread of news over COVID -19 in Sri Lanka is as fast as the deadly coronavirus. Whilst the only formal source for the public is the Government, reporting accounts which are diametrically opposite and often correct, is the social media. Sri Lankans discerning enough can gauge that in this age of new technology, including the wide use of smartphone, which is propaganda, and which is not. They do not get swayed by misleading official claims. So why then is an official information overload with the critical factors missing?

Do those who disseminate them believe that the public would swallow what they say hook, line, and sinker?

First to the daily pattern in the flow of information. As the morning grows, the first to come is the official announcement that anything between 1,500 to 2,500 patients have recovered from hospitals. That is “good news.” This is followed in the evening with a preliminary announcement about the active cases for the day. Other than a couple of days when it overshot the 3,000 mark, they are always below this figure.

Then, late at night comes the death toll.

Unusual enough, one day, the death count was delayed. It came only in the evening and declared 101, the highest number for the day, were dead. That sent a clear message that the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka had reached unexpectedly uncontrollable proportions.

Embarrassed officials found a way of explaining this high figure. A note they circulated gave a breakdown to show those deaths were for 13 days. How it missed the daily death toll is one question. These 13 days included deaths of one, two or 14 deaths. For example, on May 8, there was only one death and on May 15 there was another death. In the days in between, there have been no deaths if one were to go by that note. The officials expect the public to simply swallow their claims. Then, comes the case of top officials declaring that the lockdown would be lifted only to contradict themselves and declare it would continue. Is it a case of their ignorance or unfamiliarity with the current issues?

Why are death tolls kept low? The answer seems to have come from the Association of Medical Specialists. They said in a letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa that the PCR tests were low. Thus, those afflicted with COVID-19 record a low number. The Association also said that there were patients sleeping on the floor of some hospitals.

This campaign of disinformation is the main reason why Colombo-based diplomatic missions, mostly representing western nations, have developed their own mechanisms to keep track of the number of cases and deaths. They have tasked their local staffers who are giving them a detailed update of the correct position.