Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga says the Government expects to vaccinate all eligible people as soon as possible and around one million people will receive the first dose of vaccinations against the COVID-19 pandemic within the next two weeks.
“We have no doubt that the Gotabaya-Mahinda combination, which eliminated terrorism from the country, will win the battle against the pandemic and develop the country’s economy,” the Minister said.
Addressing the gathering at a ceremony held in Minuwangoda yesterday, March 1, the Minister said it is also the victory of the Government that Sri Lanka received the two consignments of vaccines (one million doses) while 130 other countries are still waiting to get even a single dose of the vaccine.
“The AstraZeneca vaccination rollout is now in full swing. We began vaccinating the people from January 29 after 500,000 doses of the vaccine arrived from India. The second consignment of 500,000 vaccines arrived in the country last week. We have now planned to vaccinate all eligible people within the next three months,” the Minister noted.
“However, around 136 countries have not vaccinated their people so far. As a Government which is always committed for the health and safety of the people, we will continue the vaccination programme. By now Sri Lanka has been ranked 10th in the list of countries which have successfully handled and controlled the pandemic. We want to make Sri Lanka one of the safest countries for travel,” Minister Ranatunga added.
