Workers in the tourism sector and factory workers will be given priority in the COVID19 vaccination programe when Sri Lanka receives the next consignment of vaccines, the government said.

This comes as part of the government's plans to revive the tourism and manufactoring sectors severely affected by the outbreak of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns.

Accordingy, 20,000 workers involved in the tourism sector and 130,000 workers scattered across 1700 factories will be vaccinated under the government-run vaccination process.

Tourism sector workers will be selected from establishments and services registered under the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).

Sri Lanka has started a mass vaccination programme covering high-risk areas with the aim of becoming the first country in South Asia to vaccinate the entire population in the shortest possible tme.