Afghanistan heading towards new Covid-19 peak

KABUL (Pajhwok):The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) on Wednesday reported a nearly 10 percent increase in Covid-19 positive cases in last 20 days and  said Afghanistan was heading towards the peak of Covid-19 third wave, but still there was no need for quarantine measures.

MoPH on May 5 announced nearly 11 percent increase in Covid-19 positive cases.

MoPH spokesman, Dr. GhulamDastagirNazari told Pajhwok Afghan News the infection rate at the end of Ramadan was between 12 and 14 per cent but unfortunately the figure has now reached 22 percent, adding the infection rate was not as high to warrant lockdowns in cities.

Nazari instructed the public to consider and implement health guidelines seriously.

MoPH spokesman said a full lockdown was not currently considered but if figures rise, then restrictions would certainly be imposed.

He acknowledged that Covid-19 infections have recently spiked and stressed that people must wear masks, wash hands frequently, maintain distance and refrain from gatherings which is the main cause of rise in infections.

The deadly virus was initially detected in the Wuhan city of China before it spread to 200 countries and regions around the globe. First incident of the virus was registered in Herat on February 24, 2020.

As positive cases increased in Afghanistan, the Cabinet declared countrywide restrictions on March 27, 2020 and government officials operated from home and stores, restaurants and commercial markets were closed for three weeks and then the lockdown was extended in Kabul due to rise in infections.

Afghanistan has so far registered 67,700 Covid-19 positive cases and 2,887 deaths.

According to reports so far 167m people have been infected with the virus worldwide, with 150m recoveries and 3.4m deaths.

Hr/ma

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