Peru, the country with the world's highest Covid mortality rate, will begin next month to require vaccination proof from adults entering indoor spaces, the government said Sunday.

The statement, published in the official government newspaper, said that people 18 and older will have to provide physical or virtual vaccination cards to access restaurants, shopping centers, gyms and theaters.

Health Minister Hernando Cevallos said that two Covid-19 shots will be required.

Health workers have been racing to vaccinate residents against the coronavirus in Peru, the nation with the highest Covid-19 mortality rate in the world
Health workers have been racing to vaccinate residents against the coronavirus in Peru, the nation with the highest Covid-19 mortality rate in the world AFP / Ernesto BENAVIDES

Face masks will also be mandatory indoors.

So far Peru has vaccinated 16.4 million people with two doses, or 59 percent of the population aged 12 or older.

Since the pandemic started in March 2020, the Andean country of 33 million has registered 2.2 million cases of Covid-19 and 200,600 deaths, according to a government tally.

Coronavirus