ROME (AP) - The Italian government approved a measure Wednesday requiring people older than 50 to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, as the country struggles with nearly daily new records of fresh infections fueled by the omicron variant.

Earlier in the day, 189,000 new infections were confirmed in the country of some 59 million people.

“We want to put the brakes on the growth of the curve of contagion and push Italians who are still not vaccinated to do so,” Prime Minister Mario Draghi was quoted by an official in his office as telling his ministers at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday evening.

The Cabinet voted unanimously to impose the mandate, which Public Administration Minister Renato Brunetta said puts Italy in the vanguard in Europe in cracking down on those who refuse to be vaccinated and who now account for the majority of patients in Italy's rapidly filling ICU beds.

Some 78% of Italy's population is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, which can cause COVID-19. So far, about 36% have received a booster shot, which experts say is a crucial instrument in reducing the possibility that an infection will necessitate intensive care or be fatal.

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