Herat residents ignore travel restrictions

Monitoring Desk

HERAT: While the number of COVID-19 patients in Herat province has significantly increased, the residents of Herat city are ignoring the restrictions on movement, said a TOLOnews reporter in Herat.

With 257, Herat has the highest number of COVID-19 cases, and so far four of these patients have died from the virus.

Local officials in Herat say it is difficult to impose restrictions on travel to and from Herat, and are working to find better ways to control the coronavirus in the province.

Restrictions on movement were put in place two weeks in the province.

The Herat Health directorate warns that if the coronavirus is not taken seriously by citizens, Herat will experience a catastrophe in the coming weeks.

“If people remain careless about preventing the spread of the virus, and health issues are not monitored and the quarantine is not observed in homes, it will be the best opportunity for the virus, and the coronavirus will have no consideration as it infects people. Like Iran and European countries, the coronavirus can cause a crisis for Afghanistan too,” said Mohammad Asif Kabir, deputy head of Herat’s public health directorate.

“There are problems with the coronavirus in Herat, and the quarantine in Herat is not going well. We are working on local solutions to localize the quarantine in Herat,” said Sayed Wahid Qatali, Herat’s governor.

A number of Herat residents are also urging people to follow health guidelines to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.

“Most of the people go out because of poverty and economic problems and do not have the necessary facilities to quarantine themselves in their homes for a while and stay in their homes,” said Ghani Shah Faiz Zada, a resident of Herat.

“People are seen gathering while they should be two meters apart. When one person is sick at a gathering, everyone around them becomes infected with the coronavirus,” said Bashir Ahmad, another resident of Herat.

Forty new coronavirus cases have been reported in the country today. With these cases, the total number of positive coronavirus cases in the country has reached 484. (TOLOnews)