Sri Lankan health authorities will on Friday begin the inoculation of 250,000 frontline health workers against the novel coronavirus after COVID-19 vaccines donated by India arrived in the island nation, the President's Media Division said in a statement.

The statement said that upon their arrival at Sri Lanka's Bandaranaike International Airport on Thursday, the 500,000 Covishield vaccines donated by India were handed over to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa by High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay, reports Xinhua news agency.

The statement said 250,000 frontline workers will receive the jabs in a vaccination program which will commence at six main hospitals in the Western Province on Friday.

This will include over 150,000 health workers, and 100,000 members of military, police and security forces who are at the frontline of Covid prevention operations.

Sri Lanka has so far detected 61,586 COVID-19 cases and 297 deaths.

(IANS)