Labour Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva says a special programme would be implemented next week to vaccinate all Lankan migrant workers waiting to leave for foreign jobs with valid visas with vaccines approved in the host countries.
Minister Silva said that already nearly 8,000 Lankan workers who had been granted work permits and visas in about 15 countries were waiting to receive a vaccine accepted by those countries.
The Minister made the announcement at a discussion held with Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi and other officials at the Health Ministry.
Those migrant workers are expected to leave for Dubai, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, South Korea, the Maldives, Malaysia, Israel and Cyprus for employment.