News
With health staff increasingly contracting COVID-19, GMOA urges fast tracking of vaccine import
By Rathindra Kuruwita
Given that a large number of hospital workers had contracted COVID-19, the government was taking steps to fast track the import of a COVID-19 vaccine, the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) said yesterday.
It said the government should ensure that the vaccine was approved by the WHO, had a high rate of efficiency, least cases of side effects, suitable for the environment prevalent in the country and be affordable.
Dr. Senel Fernando, Secretary of the GMOA, said that the independent committees should be appointed and they should decide what vaccine should be imported and the reasons for their decision.
“The vaccine must also be registered with the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) and this should be expedited. A number of healthcare professionals are falling victim to COVID-19 and a number of others are in isolation as they are first contacts. Given this situation, human resources will be a limiting factor in the health sector soon. We need to take care of the frontline staff.”
Dr. Fernando noted that there was confusion about the import of vaccines with officials offering various opinions. People were told that several countries had offered help, but nothing concrete had come out as yet.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a letter to the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping has sought access to Chinese vaccine against COVID-19, the Foreign Ministry said last week. Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the People’s Republic of China Dr. Palitha Kohona has made this statement when he presented a copy of the credentials to Director General of the Department of Protocol Hong Lei at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China earlier this week.
Media has also reported that India has agreed to donate its locally manufactured vaccines against the COVID-19 for Sri Lanka’s frontline workers.
News
Ministerial Committee appointed to submit recommendations on proposed program to mitigate loss of crops to wild animals
The rural agricultural livelihood and food security have been severely impacted due to the damage caused by wild animals such as elephants, wild boars, monkeys, toque macaque, squirrels, and peacocks roaming around human habitats and cultivated lands.
Animal-human conflicts and property destruction have mostly been reported around these areas, and serious social and economic issues have also arisen.
Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation has prepared a comprehensive program based on the opinions of all stakeholders, including the public, university community, farmers’ organizations, environmentalists, non-governmental organizations which work for environmental issues, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Agrarian Development, and other relevant organizations.
Taking into consideration the report submitted by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation, the Cabinet of Ministers has decided to appoint a ministerial committee with the participation of other relevant ministers, chaired by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation, to submit appropriate recommendations on how the aforementioned program should be implemented by further reviewing the proposals included in the said program and incorporating new proposals.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation to determine the price of the maize by a committee appointed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation in the future and to import only the quantity of maize that could not be supplied locally for the production of animal feed, under the supervision of the Department of Animal Production and Health.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the joint resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development and the Minister of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development to phase the removal of Cess tax imposed on imported goods under 2,634 combined classification codes identified over 4 years [from 2026 to 2029\.
Ministerial Committee appointed to submit recommendations on proposed program to mitigate loss of crops to wild animals
New Zealand elect to bowl first at Eden Gardens
Cabinet approves import of Maize to meet shortfall
Cabinet nod for the removal of Cess tax imposed on imported good
Around 140 people missing after Iranian navy ship sinks off coast of Sri Lanka
South Africa strong favourites as quest for elusive silverware hots up
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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