Sri Lankan government to remove pandemic restrictions despite continuing Delta variant infections The Sri Lankan government is preparing to abandon its limited pandemic restrictions, despite continuing infections of the highly-contagious Delta variant across the island. On July 5, President Gotabhaya Rajapakse said that he would fully reopen the country by September, claiming that by that time everyone over 30 years of age would be vaccinated. “To face the pandemic, the only solution is the vaccination,” he declared, but then added: “Without opening the country we cannot sustain the economy.” Workers jostle to get seat in bus at Kottawa [Credit: WSWS] In May last year, the government, in response to big business demands, fully reopened the economy. It was forced, however, to later impose some restrictions because the reopening paved the way for a sharp surge of infections and deaths.