KIGALI -- Rwanda has achieved the World Health Organization (WHO) target of vaccinating 40 percent of the entire population by December 2021, the Rwandan Ministry of Health said in a statement on Saturday.
According to the ministry, as of Dec. 24, a total of 7,556,466 of the targeted Rwandan population aged over 12, have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 5,313,421 have received two doses.
"Vaccinating 40 percent of our country's total population before the end of 2021 is a great milestone. This is attributed to our country's leadership, partnership, coordination and community engagement," Daniel Ngamije, Rwandan Health Minister told Xinhua in a telephone interview.
He added that the country has already achieved its COVID-19 vaccination target of covering 30 percent of the total population with two doses by end of 2021.
According to him, the target is to vaccinate 70 percent of the total population by December 2022.
Rwanda's total population is over 12.6 million, according to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR).
Vaccination rate also exceeded the 30 percent target Rwanda had set to achieve by the end of this year, according to the ministry.
Last week, the government of Rwanda imposed restrictions for unvaccinated people in the country, excluding them from indoor restaurants, worship places, public transport in order to minimize the spread of coronavirus and encourage vaccine skeptics to get their jabs.
The measures were announced by the office of the Prime Minister last Monday and will be reviewed upon health assessment.
The country prohibited wedding-related receptions while traditional, civil and religious weddings should not exceed 40 persons.
Parties and any other kind of celebrations are prohibited.
The government also instructed business owners countrywide to ensure their employees are fully vaccinated.
The Ministry of Health may temporarily close public or private premises with identified clusters of people infected with COVID-19, the statement warned.
The government urged all citizens and Rwandan residents to get fully vaccinated, and frequently tested. Enditem