Libya received the first batch of China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines amid the country’s stepped-up effort to vaccinate as many people as possible.
Health Minister Ali Zanati said at a joint news conference held at the Mitiga International Airport of the capital Tripoli upon the arrival of the vaccines to the country.
The Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah said another shipment of the vaccine was being expected to arrive on Tuesday.
Dbeibah called on people to get vaccinated as soon as possible as this was the only way to stop the virus.
Zanati said that the infection rate in his country has dropped from 68 per cent to 24 per cent thanked to the recently imposed protective measures against the virus, which included banning of public gatherings and public transportation, and imposing a curfew.
The government had recently launched an “exceptional” vaccination campaign against COVID-19, under which people above the age of 18, whether Libyans or foreigners, can simply go to temporary vaccination centres to get vaccinated.
The country has registered a total of 256,328 COVID-19 cases so far, including 193,144 recoveries and 3,579 deaths, according to the National Centre for Disease Control.
Xinhua/NAN
