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Vaccination card mandatory for public places from 1 January: Prasanna Ranatunga

20 Dec 2021

 
  • Minister Prasanna Ranatunga says Govt. has reached decision 
  • Says Ministry of Health taking steps to implement 
  By Buddhika Samaraweera  The Government has decided to make it mandatory for people to have Covid-19 vaccination cards in possession when entering public places from 1 January 2022, according to Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga.  Speaking during the Gampaha District Covid-19 meeting yesterday (19), he said that the Government has decided to make the Covid-19 vaccination cards mandatory when entering public places from 1 January 2022. He also said that the Ministry of Health is taking necessary steps to implement the said decision.  Speaking at the said meeting, Ranatunga said: “The Covid-19 Prevention Committee has decided that the public places cannot be entered without the QR code. This has been proposed and when this is being implemented, one will not be able to go to public places without the vaccine card.”  He further said that the people should therefore be educated to obtain Covid-19 vaccines the first opportunity they get. It is the responsibility of all citizens to obtain the appropriate vaccines when they get the opportunity, he said.  Attempts to contact Ministry of Health Communication Director, Public Health Services Deputy Director General (DDG), and Disaster Preparedness and Response Division Head Dr. Hemantha Herath to inquire into the matter proved futile.  However, The Morning last week reported that the Ministry of Health is currently reviewing the possibility of making it mandatory for the people to have vaccination cards when entering public places and that it will not be possible to implement the said decision in the near future.  When asked if there is a specific time frame for its implementation, Dr. Herath last week said that there were a number of issues with making the vaccination card mandatory. Therefore, he said that the Legal Division of the Ministry of Health and other relevant agencies were currently studying these issues and possible remedies.  “This is still under consideration and there are so many issues that need to be addressed before implementing it. Therefore, the Health Ministry’s Legal Department and other stakeholders are currently in the process of reviewing it and finding remedies for the issues that may arise. However, at this moment, there is no planned date on which this will be implemented,” he explained.  When asked who will make the final decision in this regard, Dr. Herath said: “It will be the Government of Sri Lanka that will make the final decision in this regard. Thereafter, the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) will oversee the implementation.”  Meanwhile, on an earlier occasion, Dr. Herath said that if it were to be made mandatory for the people to bring a vaccination card to confirm that they have received both doses of Covid-19 vaccines when visiting public places, those who are unable to obtain the Covid-19 vaccines due to health reasons should also be given a card stating such.  During a meeting of the Covid-19 Prevention Committee on 10 December, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had stated that the possession of the Covid-19 vaccination card would be made mandatory in the future.


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