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Afghan government tightens quarantine measures

An Afghan policeman gestures as volunteers wearing a hazmat suits and a face masks gather on before the start of a preventive campaign against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Kabul on March 18, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

Amin Alemi
Press TV, Kabul

Afghan health authorities say the spread of COVID-19 is on the rise in Afghanistan. So far, nearly 200 positive cases of coronavirus have been confirmed across the country, mainly in western Herat province, which hosts two-third of all COVID-19 patients.

The government’s authorized counter COVID-19 committee has already adopted stricter measures to contain the disease. However, peoples' ignorance to health instructions and quarantine measures has prompted the government to issue warnings over violation of the quarantine regulations. 

Afghan officials has called the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic as the country’s first and top priority, with measures aimed at reducing the number of victims. Afghan authorities say the country would gain no success in curbing the outbreak unless it brings all together.

Kabul has been under lockdown since last Friday, with city officials demanding the residents to stay home and respect the quarantine regulations as much as possible. But days after the quarantine started, the government says, peoples' inattention to the measures has doubled the fears of further outbreak of infection cases across the country. This has forced the police to set up check posts across Kabul to control peoples' moves.

The Afghan government has earmarked some 25 million dollars to battle the crisis. It has also set up several makeshift hospitals in cities including the capital Kabul in an effort to bolster the medical response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 


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