Sri Lanka's fight against COVID-19: a brief overview

Sri Lanka was endorsed by the World Health Organization as a country that made immense progress in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter focuses on the health-care structure, strategic use of Police, Tri-forces, and other government entities, media support, traditional social practices, the public responsiveness, and even the geographic location of the country that contribute to the overall control of the pandemic and management of the disease plausibly. Despite the nearly successful achievement, the country has faced economic, political, and social challenges during this critical period, through which many lessons are learnt. Sri Lanka has had few H1N1 outbreaks in the recent past. However, till the spread of COVID-19, the current population had not experienced the spread of a highly contagious disease in the country. Therefore, this chapter aims to share the novel experience, strategies used, challenges faced, and ways adapted in confronting COVID-19 as a country.