Sri Lanka makes Covid vaccine cards mandatory from January 1

The Sri Lankan Health Ministry said that Covid-19 vaccination cards has been made mandatory for all local and foreign citizens who visit public places from January 1, 2020, in a bid to prevent the spread of the virus.

Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that the decision was taken as many people were not adhering to Covid health guidelines in the country, and this had already come into effect in some countries where vaccine cards were mandatory even to visit a restaurant, reports Xinhua news agency.

"People should keep the Covid-19 vaccine card with them or should keep a copy of the digital vaccine card with the QR code," Rambukwella said.

According to official figures from the Health Ministry, nearly 63 per cent of the total population have been fully vaccinated till date.

Presently all those above 20 are being administered a booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine, in order to boost immunity as the Omicron variant of the virus threatens to cause a rise in infections globally.

Sri Lanka has to date detected four Omicron patients while PCR tests are being conducted daily to detect if there are more cases among the public.