Ecuador is the first Latin American country to mandate Covid-19 vaccines

Ecuador is requiring all eligible citizens to get vaccinated against Covid-19, making it the first Latin American country to issue a strict vaccine mandate.

All Ecuadorians over five years old will be required to get the vaccine, said a statement from the government. People who cannot receive the vaccine safely will be exempt.

The new measure was implemented as an effort to combat the new omicron variant, according to Ecuador’s Public Health Minister Ximena Garzon.

"In Ecuador, vaccination against covid-19 is mandatory. This decision was taken due to the current epidemiological status, that is, the increase in the number of infected people and the circulation of new variants of 'concern', such as omicron," the health ministry said in a statement.

The health ministry will be opening 24-hour health centers over the Christmas holiday to facilitate the vaccination process.

Ecuador claims to have enough vaccines in stock to vaccinate all of its residents, according to the country’s health ministry.

Around 77 percent of the country’s 17.7 million citizens are fully vaccinated against the virus. Around 900,000 have received the booster.

On Wednesday, Ecuador reported 819 new Covid-19 cases, reaching a total of 539,037 cases throughout the pandemic.