brand logo

All state and private functions banned for two weeks

26 Apr 2021

  • President says vaccine only way out of pandemic

  • Adds economy can’t afford a lockdown

  The Government yesterday (25) cancelled all state functions which were scheduled to be held over the next two weeks and banned all functions, meetings, and parties which were scheduled to be held over the next two weeks by the private sector as per quarantine regulations. The Government said that these measures have been taken to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile the President, in a statement yesterday, said that only a vaccine can end the Covid-19 pandemic and that the Government has a systematic and strong programme in place to vaccinate the public. The President emphasised that in order to overcome this challenge, the people must strictly follow all the rules and regulations recommended by the health authorities, as they did in the first wave of the Covid-19 epidemic. “The Government has made arrangements to import four of the Covid-19 vaccines currently approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and to be approved in the near future by the WHO. The first imported AstraZeneca vaccine has been administered to 925,242 people. The second dose of the vaccine is scheduled to be given in the first week of May. The second dose will be given to 356,000 people, including frontline health officials and tri-forces and police officers engaged in the control of the Covid-19 epidemic. The Government is now in talks with the rest of the pharmaceutical firms, who produce the AstraZeneca vaccine, to meet the remaining demand.” He added that 200,000 doses of the Russian made “Sputnik” Covid-19 vaccine will be available by the end of April, while 400,000 doses will be available in May, 800,000 doses in June, and 1,200,000 doses in July. Cabinet approval has already been granted to import 13 million doses of the Sputnik vaccine and plans are already afoot to distribute 600,000 doses of the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccines donated by China to the people of Sri Lanka in the next few weeks with the approval of the WHO. In addition, he said the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) has already signed the preliminary agreements required for the importation of the Pfizer vaccine and the Government is in the process of importing the vaccine as soon as possible. “The Head of the World Health Organisation reiterated in Geneva yesterday (24) that adherence to basic public health guidelines is the backbone of the fight against the spread of Covid-19. Properly wearing a facemask, occasional hand washing with soap or hand disinfectants, the practice of social distancing, and avoidance of non-essential events are among the most important. Some sections of society think that the country should be locked down for some time as a solution to control the spread of the Covid-19 menace. Although such an action may have satisfactory results at the beginning, in the long term it will have extremely detrimental effects on the lives of the people and the economy.” He emphasised that developing countries such as Sri Lanka cannot take lockdown measures or impose curfews that obstruct the economic activities of the country. The majority of our country's income earners depend on informal livelihoods. Therefore, while the Government is fulfilling its responsibilities, the people must fulfil their respective responsibilities and duties for the betterment of the country as well as themselves, he said.


More News..