Quito, Dec 24 (IANS): Ecuador's Public Health Ministry announced that it was making vaccination against Covid-19 mandatory, given a rise in infections and concern about new variants, such as Omicron.

The measure will take effect immediately, the Ministry said in a statement, urging the public to get vaccinated to protect against the virus and its variants, reports Xinhua news agency.

The decision reflects "the international trend that shows the speed of transmission and the pressure on health services that have high demand for hospitalisation", the Ministry said.

Ecuador "has the amount of vaccines necessary to immunize the entire population", it said, adding the measure is lawful.

Since January, Ecuador has fully vaccinated over 12.4 million people, or 77.23 per cent of the target population aged five and older.

The government's goal is to vaccinate 85 percent of the population, or some 15 million people, by December 31 to achieve herd immunity.

Ecuador has so far reported 539,037 cases and 23,815 deaths from Covid-19, according to the Ministry.

Starting Thursday, access to public venues required showing proof of full vaccination amid the busy Christmas shopping season.