The Ministry of Public Health, concerned with the spread of a new Covid-19 wave in neighboring countries, warns that If Afghans neglect Covid-19 preventive measures while traveling to Iran, Pakistan, and India, the new wave may spread in Afghanistan as well.
The information provided by the Ministry of Public Health shows that 40-50,000 Afghan citizens are commuting to Iran and Pakistan by land every day.
“Unfortunately, this travel increases the spread of the virus in Afghanistan; therefore, it’s better to observe the recommended protective measures. People must follow the instructed measures and take them seriously. Wearing a face mask in such a situation is essential,” said Dastgir Nazari, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health.
Global cases of COVID-19 and death tolls are highly concerning. India on Friday witnessed 300,730 positive cases with 2,263 COVID-infected people dying from the virus on the same day.
India’s health sector has been grappling with challenges of the COVID-19 virus for the last few weeks.
Iran and Pakistan, two neighboring countries of Afghanistan, are also struggling with COVID-19 as positive cases began rising in both countries in the past month.
Afghanistan reported 172 positive cases and 10 deaths of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, and health officials say that people do not consider the virus a serious risk and do not take precautionary measures, such as wearing face masks or social distancing.
A resident of Kabul, Abdul Hakim said: “If people do not wear face masks and do not practice social distancing, the death toll will rise. We should start complying with preventative measures, first, we should start with ourselves.”
“When I am in the city looking around, I assume people do not believe in the real existence of the virus; therefore, no one observes social distancing or wears a face mask,” said Hasibullah, a Kabul resident.
According to the Ministry of Public Health, the cumulative total of registered COVID-19 is 59,015 cases, the total number of the reported deaths is 2,592, and the total number of recoveries is 52,489.
Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan, had the highest number of COVID-19 cases last week.