COLOMBO- Sri Lanka government has decided to give Covid vaccination free-of-charge to all prospective workers who have got job orders for foreign employment.
“ Those selected for foreign employment have been requested to register their names as soon as possible with the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foregn Employment,(SLBFE) for the vaccination process,” Mangala Randeniya,Deputy General Manager and Spokesperson for the Bureau said here on Sunday.
Randeniya explained that the Special Covid Task Force will give priority for such applicants for immediate vaccination since they have to undergo the second vaccination after a period of a month. Pointing out that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is keen on helping these applicants since they are the earners of foreign exchange which is badly needed for the country at this crucial pandemic period.
A good number of applicants have got confirmed job orders from countries such as Korea and other Middle Eastern and Far-eastern states.
He also said that those who travel without the required vaccination certificates will have to undergo mandatory quarantine which would cost them at least Rs 200,000/ each.
For the moment, Sri Lanka has only Sinopharm vaccination available for inoculation. However, Saudi Arabia announced last week that it would not accept Sinopharm vaccination and it would only allow Pfizer Bio-NTech,Moderna,Oxford AstraZeneca (CoviSheid) and Johnson and Johnson.
Owner of New Kingdom Manpower, a licensed employment agency, said, last week, he sent four people to Saudi Arabia and it cost each passenger Rs 239,000, which included the charge for seven days quarantine, paid by the prospective workers. “ This vaccination proposal would greatly ease the burden on the worker, who need not pay for overseas quarantine,” he added.
Early June, during a meeting with Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, the Korean Ambassador to Sri Lanka Woonjin Jeong assured the Foreign Minister that the facilities required for the Sri Lankan youth who are eligible for employment in Korea to travel to Korea will be provided shortly.
.The Foreign Minister pointed out that those who have qualified for jobs in Korea have been expecting to leave for jobs in Korea for a long time; however it has been avoided day by day due to the COVID pandemic.The Minister also pointed out that they are under severe mental stress due to this.
