Ten percent of the Gambian population are fully vaccinated against as the country surpassed the 230,000 mark, data from the Ministry of Health showed. 

The Gambia launched its mass vaccination drive in March after receiving vaccines from the World Health Organisation’s COVAX facility.

On Saturday the ministry launched a house-to-house coronavirus vaccination campaign with US-donated Johnson & Johnson vaccine. 

The campaign comes amid the threat of the global Omicron variant which has already spread to multiple countries in Africa.

The ministry said the one week vaccination campaign will be held within the Kombo and West Coast Regions. 

The country has so far reported 10,051 Covid-19 cases with 342 deaths.

Health officials have also announced new travel conditions in efforts to curb importation of the new strain, which is believed to spread faster than previous variants.

In the new directive, passengers should provide a negative PCR result from tests taken within 72 hours before being allowed into the country.

A list of countries considered to be hotspots for the Delta variant has also been published . 

Passengers from these countries will be required to additionally take a Rapid Diagnostic Test at the airport upon arrival.

(CTGN with input from agencies)