KABUL (SW) – Health authorities on Saturday blamed the delta variant of COVID-19 (first detected in India) for the alarming spike in infections and deaths.
Acting Minister of Public Health Waheed Majrooh told a news conference in Kabul today that he had examined 19 suspicious samples of coronavirus in the central laboratories of the ministry, of which 11 were Delta or Indian and 8 were Alpha or English variants of the virus. According to him, the reason for the worsening situation or rising death toll due to the pandemic in the country is the high prevalence of Indian variant.
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Majrooh also criticized the public for not paying attention to health recommendations, saying that hotels were still open in some provinces. “If urgent measures are not taken to prevent the virus, the situation will spiral out of control.”
He said the imposition of some restrictions was possible, adding that the cities are not well managed and if this had been done, the situation would have been much better by now. The minister added that the closure of private schools and universities has put pressure on various sections of the society and, according to him, half of his day is spent on convincing them about the need of the hour.
This comes as the reports suggest the U.S. plans to give Afghanistan three million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as the country is facing a surge of coronavirus cases. The official said the doses could be sent as early as next week along with other supplies such as oxygen.
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