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AFCON

Ivory Coast uses AFCON to promote covid-19 vaccination

Ivory Coast fans watching the AFCON are being greeted at dedicated fan zones with rapid tests, masks and covid-19 vaccines, an initiative of the health ministry to spur vaccination.

An Ivory Coast fan receives the vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID -19) at a vaccination center, before watching the Africa Cup of Nations soccer match between Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast on a big screen in Abidjan, Ivory Coast January 12, 2
LUC GNAGOREUTERS

Ivory Coast soccer fans watching the Africa Cup of Nations are being greeted at dedicated fan zones with rapid tests, masks and covid-19 vaccines, an initiative of the health ministry to spur vaccination.

Soccer is the West African country's favourite sport and thousands of fans have flocked to the "Cup of Nations villages" in the commercial capital Abidjan where the matches are projected on giant screens.

Ivory Coast fans wearing protective masks stand in line as they arrive to watch the Africa Cup of Nations soccer match between Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast on a big screen in Abidjan, Ivory Coast January 12, 2022. Picture taken January 12, 2022. REUT
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Ivory Coast fans wearing protective masks stand in line as they arrive to watch the Africa Cup of Nations soccer match between Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast on a big screen in Abidjan, Ivory Coast January 12, 2022. Picture taken January 12, 2022. REUTLUC GNAGOREUTERS

One of the tournament favourites, Ivory Coast is in the same group as defending champions Algeria, and Sierra Leone. It defeated Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in their first game nL1N2TS2RM on Wednesday evening to top the group.

Masks are required within the fan zones, and stands have been set up for awareness-raising about covid-19. Rapid tests and vaccines are also being offered at mobile clinics.

"We came with vaccines and more, to sensitize the population about the wearing of masks and compliance with protective measures," said Serge Yao Djezou, COVID-19 manager for the health ministry at the fan zone in Yopougon, a suburb of Abidjan.

Abidjan is the centre of the covid-19 outbreak in Ivory Coast, where cases have surged in recent weeks due to the highly contagious Omicron variant.

The country has administered enough doses to vaccinate about 14% of its 26 million population so far, according to data collected by Reuters.

It aims to double that figure by the end of June, said the health ministry.

"What motivated me (to get vaccinated) was the Ivory Coast match," said 31-year-old soccer fan Jean-Jacques Bakayoko after getting his shot at the viewing area in Yopougon, where dozens of young people were being inoculated.

Ivory Coast has reported at least 77,857 infections and 742 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic began.