Djibouti makes COVID-19 vaccination compulsory

MOGADISHU, Somalia

Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh issued a decree Monday announcing that it is a must to vaccinate the country's adult population and its foreign residents against the coronavirus.

"The president issues a presidential decree making vaccination against COVID-19 compulsory for individuals over 25 years old, [including] Djibouti nationals and foreigners residing in the country,” Health Minister Ahmed Roble said on Twitter.

In Djibouti, from Jan. 3, 2020 to June 21, 2021, there have been 11,587 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The small country, which only has a population of slightly over 1 million, has so far recorded 155 deaths from the pandemic. A total of 21,357 vaccine doses have been administered in the country so far.

Djibouti, bordering Somalia in the south and the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in the east, is a small country located in the Horn of Africa.