KABUL (Tolo News): The Ministry of Public Health reported 15 new cases of the coronavirus in the country, including 11 cases in Herat, three in Farah and one in Ghazni province. With this, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country has risen to 110. Two foreign diplomats and four service members of NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan are among the 110 positive cases in the country.
The ministry has confirmed the death of three people as a result of the coronavirus infection. Three people have recovered so far. This comes as the government approved a lockdown plan for Kabul and its provincial districts that will be applied in the city for three weeks, starting on Saturday, March 28. Speaking at a press conference, Kabul governor Mohammad Yaqub Haidari said all Kabul residents must stay at home, avoid non-essential movements and avoid gatherings. He said the residents should be ready to provide valid reasons–such as health or security reasons– if they leave their homes.
He said all sports places, wedding halls, shrines and public gathering places would remain closed. “All buses should stop movements in the city. All stores, except grocery stores, should remain closed, he added. The governor said that all government institutions in Kabul city and in the province–except the Ministry of Public Health and the municipality and security institutions–will be closed for at least three weeks.
Public Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz said the lockdown plan will be put in place because Kabul has a large population and the coronavirus is spreading. He says the lockdown will go into effect Saturday. It is estimated that over 25 million people will be infected with the coronavirus in Afghanistan, Feroz said, and at least 16 million of them will show symptoms. But he said the spread can be prevented if measures are implemented. The Ministry of Public (MoPh) confirmed that the new positive cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has reached 104 in Afghanistan.
According to MoPH officials, the Ministry of Public Health tested 48 suspected COVID-19 cases as in western Herat province. The officials further added that the test results returned as negative for 34 cases while 14 other cases were tested positive for the disease. The Ministry of Public Health recorded 11 positive cases in Herat and 3 positive cases in western Farah province, out of the new suspected cases.
This comes as the Afghan cabinet had earlier approved a plan to impose curfew in Kabul city in a bid to combat and prevent the outbreak of COVID-19 disease in the country. The Afghan government adopted the latest measure amid sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in the neighboring countries. Pakistan has so far reported close to 1,400 positive cases while reports emerging from India suggest the number of positive cases has exceeded 800.
