The majority of patients with COVID-19 disease in Herat province are isolated in their homes, officials at Herat's public health department said.

According to Mohammad Rafiq Shirzai, spokesman for the Herat public health department, around 40 out of 306 patients with COVID-19 in Herat province are in a hospital under treatment, and the other patients are living at home, in isolation.

Shirzai said doctors are in touch with the isolated patients and check their health every day.

“Of the total positive cases of the coronavirus virus recorded in Herat, about forty patients are Herat’s COVID-19 hospital and the rest are in their homes. We contact these patients and check their conditions,” added Shirzai.

A number of patients with COVID-19 in Herat, who live in isolation, say the reason for their isolation at home is the lack of facilities at the hospital.

“The reason for leaving the COVID-19 hospital was that it was not sufficiently equipped, and we were seventy patients in a room, and everyone was using the same toilet. I preferred to come home and stay in the home quarantine. It has been almost a month since I have been in quarantine at home, but there has been no help from the government, and I have paid for all the treatment myself,” said Mohammad, one of the COVID-19 patients.

Local officials in Herat say they have spent more than 200 million afghanis to fight the coronavirus, and most of that money has been spent on treating the patients and buying health equipment and supplies.

“We spent a lot of money on health. When it comes to health, we are talking about treating the sick, feeding the sick, and equipping facilities. We focus most on the health sector,” said Ghulam Daoud Hashimi, Herat deputy governor.

Some members of the Herat Provincial Council are concerned about the spending of millions of afghanis on the treatment of COVID-19 patients, and are concerned the risks of keeping infected people outside of the hospitals.

“The lack of care in hospitals is causing patients to go to their homes, which has increased the risk of families becoming infected with the coronavirus,” said Kabir Esar, Herat’s provincial council member.

While only 15 percent of the COVID-19 patients are under treatment in the government hospital, local officials claim that nearly 1,000 beds are ready for the COVID-19 patients but most of those patients, instead of going to the hospitals, prefer to stay in isolation at home.