Amman, Dec 24 (IANS): The Jordanian government announced that it will tighten health measures as of 2022, starting with the New Year's Eve celebrations amid the rapid global spread of the new Omicron Covid-19 variant.

People will be required to provide a proof of being fully vaccinated, as well as a negative PCR result valid for 48 hours to attend the celebrations, State Minister for Media Affairs Faisal Shboul was quoted by the state-run Petra news agency as saying.

As many as 14 Omicron cases were recorded in the country on Thursday, he said.

Jordan reported 2,239 new cases in the last 24 hours, increasing the caseload to 1,047,953, reports Xinhua news agency.

The pandemic also claimed 43 lives in the same period, taking the overall death toll to 12,372, according to the Health Ministry.

The Ministry also added that the total number of people who received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine has reached 4,301,730, and 3,891,366 have been fully vaccinated.