KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) on Thursday reported a reduction in Covid-19 infections during the second wave but warned of a probable spread of a new variant in Afghanistan.
Dr. Wahid Majroh, deputy Minister of Public Health, told a press conference here that there was a 6.5 percent reduction in Covid-19 positive patients and a 26 percent in bedded patients in the country. “This is not considered as an end to the second wave of the virus.”
He also said they owed the success in the fight against coronavirus during its first and second waves to the decisive leadership of the president, the Anti-Covid-19 Committee and the executive role of MoPH.
“Increase in capacities of hospitals, skills of doctors and public confidence in the health sector resulted in considerable reduction in Covid-19 positive cases,” he said.
He added if people neglected Covid-19 preventive measures, then fighting the virus would become a tough task. He warned about a new variant of coronavirus spread due to people’s travelling from and to neighboring countries.
He said the Covid-19 variant spread ratio was 70 percent higher but its fatality ratio was low.
The deputy minister said they had laboratory experts in the country to detect the variant and demanded equipment from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Majroh urged people to thank and praise efforts of health personnel in the fight against the spread of coronavirus in order to increase their morale.
“It is not only the government’s and MoPH’s responsibility to contain the virus,” he said, urging people to obey the preventive guidelines to control spread of the virus.
He stressed on improvement of hospital services and explained that the Presidential Palace was seeking an evolution in the delivery of health services through hospitals.
The senior government official emphasized on increasing coronavirus diagnosis laboratories in provinces and said they were working to increase the number of such laboratories.
Majroh said the MoPH had created a monitoring plan for provision of health equipment to personnel and health centers.
At least 53,327 Covid-19 positive cases have been detected in Afghanistan so far besides 43,291 recoveries and 2,260 deaths.
Hr/ma
