He asserted this while addressing a media conference held at the National Eye Hospital in Colombo March (08) commemorating the World Glaucoma Week.

The Director-General affirmed that at present, more than 720,000 people have been vaccinated and that we have received more than 250,000 vaccines from the World Health Organization (WHO) under the COVAX facility.

He further added that the highest number of patients in Sri Lanka are between the ages of 30 and 60, and that they are the main transmitters of the disease and that the number of patients over 60 is low yet their mortality rate is high.

Recalling that Sri Lanka is the only country in the world that quarantines coronavirus patients at the expense of the government, the Director General of Health Services further said that owing to that method, the spread of the virus is controlled in the country to a significant context.

He further said that the government has decided to vaccinate more than 30 people and to give priority to the Grama Niladhari Divisions in Colombo and Gampaha districts where the highest number of patients are reported and that after covering the Colombo-Gampaha district, inoculation will be extended to other districts as well.

Dr. Gunawardana urged to give priority to those over 60 in queues and that the vaccination drive is carried out according to the quantity received. He also appreciated the commitment of the health sector officials in the inoculation process.