MALE, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Maldivian President Ibrahim Solih has told his cabinet ministers to accelerate mass vaccinations in order to control the spread of COVID-19 and revive the economy, state-owned PSM News reported here Wednesday.
Speaking to the cabinet ministers on Tuesday, Solih called for support from all government institutions to fully vaccinate the entire eligible population of the country as soon as possible.
The President's Office issued a directive on Monday requesting all government employees to get fully vaccinated. Government employees must get at least the first dose of the vaccine by Aug. 15.
Director-General of Public Health Maimoona Abubakur was also quoted by PSM News as requesting support from institutions, agencies, and companies to support the national vaccination program which began in February.
The Maldives aims to fully vaccinate 90 percent of the eligible population by the end of August. More than 70 percent of the country's eligible population has been fully vaccinated so far.
The Maldives has inoculated 325,060 people with the first dose and 274,949 people with the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The Maldives re-opened government offices and eased several anti-epidemic restrictions in July amid lower detected cases in order to kickstart the economy. Enditem
