COLOMBO, May 27 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Sri Lankan government received another batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines, donated by the Chinese government.
The vaccines, which arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport from Beijing, were received by Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong and handed over to Sri Lanka’s Health Minister, Pavithra Wanniarachchi.
This shipment was the second batch to arrive in Sri Lanka as aid from China. In Mar, China donated a batch of Sinopharm vaccines to the Sri Lankan government.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Wanniarachchi thanked China for the valuable donation. She said, this donation was extremely valuable for the country and China was a country who had continuously assisted Sri Lanka in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ambassador Qi said, COVID-19 was a common enemy and building a global community of health for all was a common goal.
“Unity and solidarity are the most powerful weapons fighting the pandemic, and vaccine sharing is the only solution to ultimately defeat the pandemic,” he said.
Sri Lanka is facing a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with over 171,000 infected patients detected to date. In the past one month alone, over 50,000 people have been infected.– NNN-XINHUA
