Albania imposes new pandemic restrictions

2100-0400 GMT. Face masks are obligatory in closed areas.

Albania's health authorities reinstalled new tough restrictive measures and warned of a possible obligatory vaccine shot for some categories in their effort to prevent a further spread of the new Delta virus variant.

Health minister Ogerta Manastirliu said that "soon we shall start the application to passing over to a new stage of the vaccination campaign, making obligatory the vaccines for some categories on behalf of the right of the other people not to get infected." Albania has noted a significant rise of the daily cases this month to more than 900 from about 100 times less a month ago.

An experts' committee extended the overnight curfew time by one hour to 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. (2100-0400 GMT). Face masks are obligatory in closed areas. But both rules on the curfew and holding face masks existed during the summer season but authorities did not impose a tough control on that.

Penalties will be 3,000-5,000 leks (USD28-48) for the individuals and 100,000-700,000 leks (USD954-6,682) for businesses.

August and September have been open months for vaccines for everyone over 18 years old.

There were two deaths and 768 new cases on Sunday and about half of Albania's 2.8 million population has had at least one shot of the vaccine.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)