The Afghan Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) on Thursday said that cases of the COVID-19 variant are declining in Afghanistan, stating that the public still needs to respect all health guidelines to prevent the recirculation of the virus.

Officials at the Afghan-Japan hospital said that fatalities from the virus have also significantly dropped.

Currently, 130 COVID-19 patients are being treated at the Afghan-Japan hospital, said the officials.

“The number of visitors in our emergency department has significantly increased due to the closure of COVID-19 centers, but the mortality rate from the virus has decreased,” said Hashmat Faizi, a doctor.

“Whatever the doctors suggest to the people must be taken seriously; the people should wear facemasks in crowded areas,” said Ahmad, a visitor of a patient at the hospital. 

“Fortunately, we are past the peak of the third wave, there has been a significant drop, but the danger of the virus still exists,” said Osman Tahiri, deputy spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health.

According to the MoPH, 445 new positive cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in the country in the past 24 hours. Of this number, 15 patients have died.