Firoz opens 10-bed virus ward in Herat

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Public Health Minister Dr. Firozuddin Firoz on Tuesday inaugurated a 10-bed isolation ward for coronavirus patients in western Herat province.

Firoz told participants of the ward’s inauguration ceremony in Herat City, the provincial capital, that the facility at the provincial hospital was equipped with all needed material.

He said treatment for coronavirus would be unknown for upcoming few years, but the MoPH had made enough preparations in this regard.

The MoPH has already assigned doctors with testing coronavirus at in Kabul international airport and dry ports.

He said 500 individuals who had returned from China were currently under treatment and would be observed for 20 days.

Meanwhile, Asif Kabir, deputy director of Herat Public Health Hospital, told Pajhwok that they had appointed a team with testing each individual at the provincial airport upon arrival. He urged citizens to use mask for protection from such illness.

Known as “2019-nCoV”, the newly identified coronavirus has created alarm because it is spreading quickly and there are still important unknowns surrounding it, such as its lethality and whether it is infectious before symptoms show.

It emerged late last year in Wuhan, a major transportation hub and capital of central Hubei province with a population of 11 million people. China has since moved to lock down most of Hubei, with a population around the same as Italy.

The deadly virus has killed over 1,000 people in China.

Pk/ma