HERAT (SW) – Health authorities began on Saturday door-to-door surveillance for the suspected coronavirus cases in frontline state Herat bordering Iran as return of hundreds of thousands of Afghans raise concerns about spillover of COVID-19 on mega scale.
Dr. Ahmad Amirnejad, head of the national outreach and surveillance department in the western part of the country, told Salam Watandar that only 213 people have been tested so far after a month of coronavirus outbreaks in the province. He said this figure very thin.
Dr. Amirnejad warned of the increase in suspected cases in the coming weeks in the province and said that given the daily influx of more than 10,000 migrants from Iran to Herat, there may more suspected coronavirus infections, and in the coming weeks, its symptoms might be exposed.
According to him, in order to identify the suspected cases of the coronavirus, additional groups of three doctors, after receiving the necessary training, have begun the new drive to searvh in the communities.
At start, the health teams, after identifying those suspected of having the virus, would get samples and place the suspect under surveillance, he said. According to Dr. Amirnejad, this method can prevent the spread of coronavirus in the community and help health authorities identify more cases of suspected and infected people.
Since the outbreak of the virus in Herat, 213 suspects, including 40 women, have been tested in the province. Of these, 15 were positive and 185 negative. The outcome of 13 other suspicious cases will be identified later.
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