Afghan News Digest

80-Year-Old Man Dies of Coronavirus in Herat

The health authorities in Herat province say an 80-year-old man died of the coronavirus in the province.

The spokesman of Herat Public Health Department, Muhammad Rafiq Sherzai said that the man died at around 12:30pm in COVID-19 Number 1 hospital.

With the death of the old man, the number of death people in Herat province reached 7.

Afghans Producing Hospital Masks in Iran amid COVID-19 Outbreak

Afghan nationals residing near the capital, Tehran, are producing over 1,000 hospital gowns per day.

An authority in charge of a local religious congregation centre, said afghans living in the town of Ray produce more than 1,000 gowns as well as hygienic headwear and footwear.

“Given the coronavirus outbreak in the country, Afghan nationals are producing gowns and caps to support the nation’s medical personnel and hospitals,” he added.

The official, himself an Afghan national, said only through cooperation can the country get through the COVID-19 crisis.

UN warns against neglecting Afghan refugees

The UN Refugee Agency on Tuesday urged greater support for Afghan refugees and the countries hosting them.

UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch in a briefing via video conferencing noted Pakistan and Iran host 90% of the 2.7 million Afghan refugees who have fled decades of war in their country.

Baloch warned that neglecting them in the fight against COVID-19 will have a “far-reaching and negative impact”.

As the race against time continues globally, UNHCR appeals to the international community to boost solidarity with all three countries and have at this critical time to prevent a larger-scale outbreak of the coronavirus among the most vulnerable communities,” said Baloch.

The UN agency noted that tens of thousands of Afghan citizens have crossed over from Pakistan to Afghanistan since the temporary re-opening of the border last week.

From Iran, while the number of Afghan nationals returning peaked at some 60,000 in March, around 1,500 individuals are currently returning every day.

He said that the novel coronavirus poses an immense threat to developing nations.
“An outbreak would put extraordinary strain on already fragile local health-care services and likely result in avoidable suffering and death,” Baloch warned.

Lockdown measures and a sharp downturn in economic activity have left many Afghan refugees unable to meet even their most basic needs, he said.

“In both countries, those who are employed are commonly hired as daily laborers,” said Baloch-Afghan Voice Agency (AVA)