Poor and marginalized will be the hardest hit communities during the coronavirus outbreak. In Sri Lanka, the government has enforced lockdown procedures and a strict curfew nationwide since 20 March 2020 as a prevention measure against the COVID – 19 pandemic. Under these circumstances, people those who worked for daily wage has become unemployed and out of income for living. In general, these groups are the poorest of the poor in the communities and are in the bottom of the wealth pyramid in the country. The government of Sri Lanka has taken steps to provide a one off subsidy of LKR 5000 for the people those in low income communities. How to tackle the financial burden of these affected livelihoods sufficiently during the prolonged curfew and restricted movement ban is still questionable.
On the other hand, the public health measures taken for the prevention of spreading the disease are irrelevant on the people with poor living conditions. Most of these people have no access to running water and facilities to wash hands with soap, live in a small house with larger number of family members and difficult to maintain social distancing, the people who are permitted to work during the curfew time such as fishermen, tea pluckers, constantly touching their faces to wipe away sweat. These social groups are at a greater risk of coronavirus infection.