Cameroon, one of the countries in Africa worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic, is set to receive "very shortly" more than one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute said on Friday.

Pointing to "a deterioration in the epidemiological situation" in the country, Dion Ngute told state radio that "more than one million vaccine doses will be available very shortly".

He did not specify which vaccines they were.

Dion Ngute called on the population to get inoculated but said the vaccination programme would be on a voluntary basis.

"In the space of one week, more than 3,000 new cases have been recorded, bringing the total number of people who have tested positive to COVID-19 to 38,988," he said.

Cameroon, with a population of 26 million, has registered 588 deaths from coronavirus so far.

The prime minister criticized the population's “laxness" in applying anti-COVID measures, pointing out that face masks were obligatory in public places and gatherings of more than 50 people were banned.

Cameroon's land, sea and air borders would also remain closed, Dion Ngute added.