KABUL (SW) – Expressing concerns over the spread of coronavirus, the health officials have clarified situation has not reached to the level of epidemic.
So far an estimated 165 suspected cases and seven confirmed cases, five in Herat and two in Samangan, have been reported in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Refugees and Returnees have reported an increasing numbers of migrants returning from other countries, especially Iran. According to the ministry's statistics, about 2,000 people enter the country daily from Iran. Return of these immigrants has been dubbed as a serious risk for spread of the virus.
However, the Ministry of Public Health has clarified that specific measures to detect and control the virus in the country are in place. Ministry officials said since the outbreak of the virus in Afghanistan, health teams have been tasked at the Kabul airport and other crossing points with Iran.
According to them, diagnostic and control centers for the virus have also been established throughout the country.
The public health ministry has also established a hotline 166 for easy access of citizens to health centers and services.
Aashiq Khan Saadati, head of the health ministry’s laboratory and diagnostics unit, said that if people have symptoms of fever, nosebleeds, muscle aches, headaches and shortness of breath, they will be transferred to intensive care units.
Afghanistan shares a 572-mile porous border with Iran where over 8,000 coronavirus cases have been reported so far, making it the fourth-most-affected country after China, South Korea and Italy.
According to Afghanistan's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, an estimated 2,000 Afghans have been returning by normal means or deported from Iran on a daily basis.
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