Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga says that the government is not prepared to postpone any project that will contribute to the future of the country and economic growth under the guise of the global Covid pandemic.
Responding to questions raised by the media after inspecting the Covid vaccination program at the Minuwangoda Divisional Secretariat, the Minister said that the government is still optimistic about the future of the country and the economy.
"Out of the 600,000 vaccines we received from China, nearly 300,000 have been administered so far. Another 200,000 will be administered in the next few days. Although travel restrictions have been imposed on all parts of the island, all MOHs in the Western Province are carrying out vaccinations successfully in the same manner as used by doctors in the Health office. The first dose has already been given to nearly one million people. The government is working to give the second dose in the next few weeks. The Gampaha District received nearly 110,000 cases of the first phase of the Sinopharm vaccine drive. The second phase will receive a similar amount," he said.
"So far, about 400,000 people have been vaccinated with AstraZeneca. As a government we hope to vaccinate about 55 percent of the population in this manner as soon as possible. The Covid Committee has discussed and decided to achieve that goal within the next 4 months," he added.