ONLY VACCINATED FANS TO BE ALLOWED AT WORLD CUP IN QATAR

Qatar will allow only people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend next year’s World Cup and is in talks to secure one million doses in case global immunisation efforts lag, the prime minister said.

The country hosts the four-week tournament in November 2022 and the FIFA president has said the matches would be held in full stadiums.

Prime Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani told newspapers that while most countries were expected to have vaccinated their citizens by then, Qatar was still taking measures to ensure a successful event.

“We are currently negotiating with a company to provide one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in order to immunize and vaccinate some of those coming to Qatar,” he said in remarks also carried by state news agency QNA late on Sunday, without identifying the firm.

It was not immediately clear how those vaccines would be offered since most corona virus vaccines require two doses administered weeks apart.

Qatari officials had earlier said they hoped to hold a coronavirus-free tournament and planned to make vaccinations available to attendees not already immunized.