Sri Lanka Makes COVID-19 Vaccination Cards Mandatory for Entering Public Places 

21-12-2021 

Judit Kolbe 

Sri Lanka and Human Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence. 

Sri Lanka’s Tourism Minister, Prasanna Ranatunga, announced on Sunday the 19th of December 2021, that from the 1st of January 2022 Sri Lanka will require people to show their COVID-19 vaccination certificate in order to enter public places (Business Standard, 2021). This announcement comes as an abrupt switch from the gradual easing of the COVID-19 measures that were put into place earlier this year in April when Sri Lanka was hit by the third wave of the virus and the Delta variant of the virus (Business Standard, 2021). Previously, Sri Lanka had lifted a six-week lockdown on October 1st 2021. Since then restaurants and cinemas reopened, and weddings were allowed to take place again (Aljazeera, 2021). Nonetheless, the police continue to enforce COVID-19 measures in public places, such as social distancing rules and the wearing of face masks (Aljazeera, 2021). Ranatunga expressed that according to a government statement, health officials were already drafting arrangements on how to implement these new rules, aiming to prevent another  increase in infections (Mallawarachi, B., 2021).

Sources and further reading:

Aljazeera (2021, December 20). Sri Lanka to make COVID vaccine card must to enter public places. Aljazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/20/sri-lanka-covid-vaccine-certificate-public-places

Business Standard (2021, December 20). Sri Lanka to require Covid-19 vaccine certificate to enter public places. Business Standard. https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/sri-lanka-to-require-covid-19-vaccine-certificate-to-enter-public-places-121122000018_1.html

Mallawarachi, B. (2021, December 19). Sri Lanka requiring COVID-19 card for entry to public places. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-sri-lanka-5372e7846878fad91e5712cec7f49362