• Delivery of the ordered vaccine consignment had to be postponed since the threat of COVID-19 in India worsened
• Government has ordered 13 million Russian jabs and stocks are expected by the last week of June 

By Ajith Siriwardana   

Army Chief and head of the COVID task force General Shavendra Silva said yesterday that the next dispatch of 500,000 AstraZeneca jabs from India will reach Sri Lanka here by April 10.  

He said the delivery of the ordered vaccine consignment had to be postponed since the threat of COVID-19 in India worsened.   

The Army Chief also said that the Government has ordered 13 million Russian jabs and stocks are expected by the last week of June and the full stock would reach here by August.   

He said this at the NOCPCO Task Force meeting attended by all members and experts in the field including Dr. Asela Gunawardena, Medical Specialist and Director General of Health Services (DGHS).   
Referring to the import of Chinese vaccines, he said the Chinese vaccines were brought in at the request of the President and it will be first provided to Chinese nationals resident in Sri Lanka in close coordination with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Sri Lanka,   

He also stressed the need to continue health practices, particularly during the forthcoming New Year festival season despite the drop in the detection of positive cases around the country.   
He said the drop in the detection of positive cases was due to many reasons and the adoption of strict health procedures.   

The Army Chief also said the Task Force closely reviewed the status quo, new developments and emergency measures in the face of detection of many more positive cases and management of infiltration of the virus into new areas, behavioural patterns of the public.   

He said every effort would be made to minimise the number of positive causes as per directions of the President in order to avoid inconvenience to the general public. 

• The drop in the detection of positive cases was due to many reasons and the adoption of strict health procedures