COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has made COVID-19 vaccination mandatory to enter public places and use public transport, according to a gazette notification which is aimed at encouraging people to get the booster dose.
The notification dated January 25 under the Quarantine and Prevention of Diseases Ordinance says a person shall not enter any public place without having proof of being fully vaccinated unless exempted by the proper authority in respect of the whole of Sri Lanka.
The new rule, to be effective from April 30, would allow the correction of current vaccination lapses as people are reluctant to receive the booster dose.
As of Friday, over 16.7 million people have received the first dose while 14 million received the second jab.
Only 5.6 million have received the third booster dose, the health ministry said.
The health ministry's COVID prevention coordinator Dr. Anwar Hamdani said that there had been a 30 per cent increase in infections this week as compared to the last week's 10 per cent.
Sri Lanka has so far reported over 615,000 COVID-19 cases since the outbreak with over 15,500 fatalities.