Coronavirus Updates in Afghanistan (15); Concerned Officials and Reckless Citizens

MoPH said Wednesday that 542 suspected coronavirus samples had been tested in the ministry’s laboratories during the past 24 hours, 70 of which were confirmed positive.

The ministry added that the new cases included 31 in Kabul, 22 in Herat, three in Kandahar, three in Ghazni, two in Maidan Wardak, Kunar, Nangarhar each and one in Faryab, Uruzgan, Nimroz and Baghlan each.

“An individual infected with the coronavirus called Noorullah, a resident of Tala and Barfak district, has been recovered after nearly 16 days in hospital of Baghlan,” said officials at Baghlan Public Health Department.

With the registration of the new cases, the number of people infected with the coronavirus in Afghanistan has reached 784, of which 23 have died and another 40 have recovered.

Third Doctor Died of Covid-19

The spokesman of MoPH, Wahidullah Mayar said: “Iqbal Omari, a doctor at Shinuzadeh Hospital, died of the coronavirus on Wednesday after his health condition deteriorated.”

Mayar cited that the doctor had previously been in quarantine and had been taken to the Afghan-Japan hospital on Tuesday due to his deteriorating health condition.

This is the third doctor in Kabul that died of the coronavirus.  Earlier, Yousef Aryubi, an internal medicine specialist at the Andragandi Children’s Health Hospital, and Hanifullah Hanif, doctor at Amiri hospital died of coronavirus.

Following the incident, the health officials in Herat province also confirmed that an 80-year-old man has died of the coronavirus in the province too.

“An 80-year-old man died at around 12:30pm today in Herat COVID-19 Number 1 hospital,” Mohammad Rafiq Shirzai, a spokesman for the Herat Public Health Department told Reporterly.

On the other hand, local officials in Nangarhar province confirmed that two people infected with the coronavirus have died in the province.

Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar, said on Wednesday that two people died of the coronavirus on Tuesday night.

Preparing the Deserts for the Cemeteries

In the meantime, the Minister of Public Health, Firuzuddin Firuz, has expressed concerns about  public’s disregard for health advices when he was summoned by the lawmakers on Wednesday session at the Lower House.

“The virus would continue if people’s recklessness continued. It will spread to their homes,” he said.

The Minister of Health declared that the number of people living with the coronavirus in Afghanistan may be higher because a number of people infected with the coronavirus have not reffered to the hospital.

Following the remarks of the health minister, the governor of Herat issued a serious warning to the citizens of the province that he was preparing the deserts of province for the graves.

Abdul Wahid Qatali said at a press conference: “Why should I encourage you to take the virus seriously?”  I want to make it clear that I am digging a grave in Herat; I am preparing the deserts for the graves. ”

While Herat tops the list of provinces with the highest number of people infected with the Covid-19, the Presidential Palace has announced that it has decided to extend the quarantine of Herat province.

The Presidential Palace said that President Ashraf Ghani had talked to Herat officials about the fight against the coronavirus in the province via video conference on Tuesday evening.

Kabul Ranks 2nd  

After Herat, the highest number of people infected with the coronavirus has been recorded in Kabul province, and the number of people infected with the virus in the province has reached 209.

MoPH said on Wednesday that 209 positive cases of corona had been reported in Kabul, of which 6 had died and 11 had recovered.

Meanwhile, Kabul’s local administration said that 747 male and female prisoners released based on a presidential decree due to the prevention of the coronavirus and the number of infected people.

The Kabul governor’s office said in a statement on Wednesday that a commission consisting of deputy governors and members of Kabul’s appeals prosecutor’s office, the Attorney General Office, the Ministry of Justice’s Children’s Correctional Center, the Human Rights Commission and the Prisons Regulatory Authority and the Deputy Minister of Policy of the Ministry of Interior reviewed the cases of 1,400 prisoners, and as a result, 747 qualified male and female prisoners were released from prison.

However, the Prisons Administration says no positive cases of coronavirus have been reported in prisons so far.

According to a statement issued by the Prisons Regulatory Authority on Tuesday, the suspicious cases of coronavirus are being urgently shared with the Ministry of Public Health and the Afghan-Japan Hospital, all of which have been ruled out.  .

In the latest news from Corona, the Independent Local Government Authority has announced the opening of a mask manufacturing factory in Mazar-e-Sharif at a cost of more than 150,000 AFN.

The factory was inaugurated by the mayor of Mazar-e-Sharif, which will produce more than 1,000 masks per day.