Impacts of the first COVID-19 Lockdown on Mobility and Consumption of Households in Sri Lanka: Results of a Survey

Abstract

Sri Lanka was introduced to an unnamed virus on 27th January 2020 when a Chinese tourist was diagnosed with it [1]. Within 8 weeks, the virus named COVID-19 had begun infecting the local population, and the government was taking measures to prevent its spread in Sri Lanka. The government imposed an all-island curfew on 20th March 2020 [2]. Starting from 20th March, the government encouraged Work-from-Home (WFH) and allowed agricultural activities while imposing restrictions on all physical movements [3]. With curfew, the government allowed the distribution of essential items and goods transport through issuing curfew passes. In spite of these measures, people faced many hardships during this time. The department of Transport and Logistics Management, Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa, conducted a survey on 12th April and completed on 20th April 2020, during a period that the country was having curfew almost all the time. The purpose of this survey was to determine the immediate impact that the government’s steps had on the people’s lives and their impressions on the future. Over 1100 respondents from all districts of the country took part in the online and email survey. As this would return a biased sample, we normalised the collected data across the districts and by educational profile to make the representation as accurate as possible [4]. The analysis led to the following 3 noteworthy findings that would be useful for any future emergency or return to curfew if the need so arises.