News
President instructs officials to expedite vaccine imports, while expanding inoculation drive
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday instructed health ministry officials to expedite the import of COVID-19 vaccines, while expanding the vaccination drive. He gave the directive when the Committee on COVID-19 met yesterday at the Presidential Secretariat.
“We must vaccinate as many people as possible in the shortest time,” President Rajapaksa said.
The President said that special attention needed to be paid to the Western Province where most cases were reported.
“We have received Sputnik-V vaccine. We have 600,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine. 55 million people in 51 countries, apart from China, have been vaccinated with Sinopharm. We should talk to health officials in these countries,” he said.
The President added that they were talking to several countries that have a surplus of AstraZeneca vaccines to get the jabs necessary to vaccinate all who had taken one dose of the vaccine.
Members of the Committee informed the President that they were taking swift action to prevent the spread of COVID-19, while ensuring that the economy ran smoothly.
The Cabinet of Ministers granted their concurrence to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Youth Affairs to appoint S. Achchudan of Special Grade of Sri Lanka Administrative Service, who is currently serving as an Additional Commissioner of Elections at the Elections Commission who is
recommended by the panel of interviewers to the post of Director General of the Sports Development Department with effect form 01.01.2026.
The Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal furnished by the Minister of Environment to publish the draft bill of the National Environment (Amended) Act in the government gazette notification and subsequently to submit the same to the Parliament for its concurrence.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Buddhism, Religious, and Cultural Affairs to provide tax relief on imported dates received as donations or gift for Ramadan.
This year’s Ramadan fasting season is scheduled to begin on 19-02-2026 and end on 21-03-2026.
Shafali, Renuka close in on top five in ICC T20I rankings
S. Achchudan appointed as Director General of the Sports Development Department.
Amendment of the National Environment Act No. 47 of 1980
Tax relief for Dates received as donations or gifts for Ramadan
Cabinet nod to establish the Sri Lanka Industrial Transformation and innovation Authority
Temporary employment of Sri Lankan labour in the State of Israel
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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