The Algerian government has announced that people will have to show a vaccine passport to enter a broad range of public venues starting Sunday, reported Arab News. The announcement was made in a government statement released on Saturday night and the rule came into effect Sunday.
The government has taken this decision to boost the country’s low inoculation rate and overcome vaccine hesitancy that has left millions of vaccines unused.
The pass is now required for anyone entering or leaving Algeria. Algerians will require the vaccine passport to enter movie theaters, museums, town halls, sports facilities, and some other sites. It will also apply to hammams, the bathhouses that are popular across the region.
The rule will be difficult to enforce considering the fact that only less than a quarter of Algeria’s population has had even one vaccine dose.
According to the Algerian government, the measure was aimed primarily at dealing with a rebound in infections from the delta variant.
The health authorities have identified only two cases of the omicron variant in the country so far, but they are bracing for more. The government said other measures could be taken in the coming days depending on the evolution of the pandemic.
Algeria has reported 217,000 COVID-19 cases and 6,230 COVID-related deaths so far including seven in the past week. But the government’s scientific committee has admitted that the real figures are expected to be much higher.
The low inoculation rates could be attributed to high vaccine hesitancy among the people, despite sufficient supply.
Earlier this month, Health Minister Abderrahmane Benbouzid warned that more than 13 million vaccines are at risk of being out of date if they do not quickly find any takers.
According to figures released last week by Professor Ryadh Mahyaoui, a member of the government scientific committee, only 10 million Algerians have had a first dose of the vaccine out of a population of 45 million.
