COLOMBO, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan authorities have made it mandatory for citizens above the age of 30 years old to carry their vaccination cards when they visit public places from Sept. 15 in a bid to curb the rising spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Army Commander and Head of the National Operations Center for Prevention of COVID-19 General Shavendra Silva said here Friday.
In a statement, Silva said the vaccination cards, which should mention the dates of both the jabs, should be shown to officials when citizens visit public places such as supermarkets, restaurants, parks, etc.
Sri Lanka is presently in the midst of a nationwide vaccination program, with over 11 million first doses administered to those above 30 years old of age.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa earlier on Friday instructed health officials to pay special attention to those aged over 60 years old and who were suffering from long-term non-communicable diseases during this pandemic and to ensure they have received the vaccines.
Last month he instructed health officials to complete administering the first dose of vaccines on all those above 30 years old by September amidst a rapid spread of the virus suspected to be caused by the Delta variant.
To date, Sri Lanka has 34,870 active COVID-19 patients and has reported 5,620 deaths.
