KABUL (SW) – The Afghan National Security and Defense Forces have rejected reports about the 50 per cent penetration of coronavirus among its ranks.
Earlier, a report by the New York Times said on Tuesday that the Pentagon believes that at least 50 percent of Afghan security forces are most likely to have coronavirus, meaning that any training and joint operations between United States and Afghan forces have been paused.
In response to this, the Afghan ministries of interior and defense, and the National Directorate of Security in a joint statement said that the reported infection figure was not accurate. In a joint statement, it noted that preventive measures are in place at ANSDF bases across the country.
It said that vulnerability of Afghan forces to coronavirus has been kept at lowest level. It added the Afghan forces are constantly engaging with the Resolute Support partners which will continue to offer training and advice.
Latest figures on the COVID-19 indicate that 625 new cases were recorded over the past 24 hours taking the total to 12,456 on Wednesday.
ENDS
