ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the shape of everyday social lives of the Sri Lankans amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns, which was greatly influenced by international political and economic alliances, local communal party politics, responses of the local employers, and local socio-cultural traditions. In a country where the ruling regimes are perceived by the citizens to be favouring one or the other group, people are apprehensive about how their needs will be looked after which posed serious problems in preparing people to cope with the various challenges. This chapter examines the impact of the pandemic on Sri Lankan society and various ethno-religious groups based on the analysis of media reports, narratives of various stakeholders, and the author’s own observations.
