Tajikistan’s government on Saturday ordered mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 for citizens over 18 years, making it the first country in the world.
According to reports, Tajikistan’s anti-coronavirus task force on Saturday said "coronavirus vaccination is mandatory for citizens over 18 years," adding that citizens should book an appointment with their local clinic to receive the free vaccine.
The task force recommended that those who come to Tajikistan from abroad should be tested for coronavirus and self-isolate for ten days, regardless of the results of the test, reported Russian news agency TASS.
Meanwhile, the overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 183.4 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 3.96 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
In its latest update on Sunday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 183,404,186 and 3,969,635, respectively.
The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 33,713,729 and 605,493, respectively, according to the CSSE. In terms of infections, India follows in the second place with 30,502,362 cases.
The other worst countries with over 3 million cases are Brazil (18,742,025), France (5,845,622), Russia (5,519,516), Turkey (5,440,368), the UK (4,896,272), Argentina (4,526,473), Colombia (4,324,230), Italy (4,262,511), Spain (3,833,868), Germany (3,738,059) and Iran (3,241,037), the CSSE figures showed.
In terms of deaths, Brazil comes second with 523,587 fatalities. Nations with a death toll of over 100,000 are India (401,050), Mexico (233,580), Peru (192,687), Russia (134,987), the UK (128,471), Italy (127,637), France (111,314) and Colombia (108,314).
(With inputs from Agencies)
