ABSTRACT
A case of “pneumonia” in a Chinese tourist from unknown reasons was first reported in Sri Lanka on January 27, 2020. During the pandemic’s first wave, the government enforced a strict strategy for case detection by identifying contacts, implementing quarantine measures, imposing travel restrictions, and isolating small villages where the virus had been rapidly spreading. Buddhism has primarily shaped the belief system of the Sinhalese people. The Sinhalese Buddhist population observes and follows Buddhism as a philosophy and as a path shown by Lord Buddha around 2500 bce. The Sri Lankan economy is mainly based on the cultivation of the staple food, rice—in its traditional varieties. The Sri Lankan people have confronted various epidemics throughout their history; the most devastating were the Great Influenza pandemic and the malaria epidemic. Deaths from the influenza pandemic totaled 307,000. In Sri Lanka, it had peaked in two discrete regions in early October of 1918 and in a second region in early March 1919.
