At least 40 staff members of Afghanistan’s presidential palace in Kabul have tested positive for the Chinese coronavirus, Afghanistan’s Khaama Press reported on Monday, citing the New York Times.
News of the infections at the presidential palace comes amid a surge in coronavirus cases across Afghanistan and following reports on Saturday that 20 staff members had contracted coronavirus, indicating a sharp increase in cases at the presidential palace over the weekend.
“Twenty-odd people are infected with COVID-19 [Chinese coronavirus] in the presidential palace. However, it is [being] kept under wraps to ensure no panic is caused,” an official in the Afghan government told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Saturday.
It is unclear if Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani – who at 70 years old is at greater risk for complications – has tested positive for the virus. However, the official Arg [the presidential palace] Twitter account seems to suggest that the president has been practicing social distancing and possibly isolation in the palace.
Last Thursday, Ghani was pictured chairing a virtual cabinet meeting via video, according to the Arg’s Twitter account. On Monday, the Arg posted more photos of Ghani to Twitter in which he is seen holding a virtual meeting from the presidential palace with “governors of the country about the fight against the [Chinese] coronavirus.” The governors are shown in their respective provinces wearing masks and practicing physical distancing to conduct the meeting, while Ghani speaks from the palace.
The Arg has not yet commented on Monday’s report of a jump in the number of coronavirus cases among its staff.
Afghanistan borders China, the country where the pandemic originated, and Iran, considered one of the most badly affected countries by the virus in the world. Authorities believe the virus entered Afghanistan from Iran.
On Monday, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health said that the country had recorded 30 new cases of the Chinese coronavirus across the country in the past 24 hours. Waheedullah Mayar, the Ministry of Public Health’s spokesperson told Khaama Press that the new cases increased Afghanistan’s total number of coronavirus infections to 1,026. However, most health authorities believe Afghanistan’s coronavirus numbers to be much higher than reported, owing to multiple factors, such as insufficient testing capabilities and the return of over 115,000 Afghans from Iran, a coronavirus hotbed, in March.
Mayar added that at least three people had died from the coronavirus over the weekend across Kabul, Kandahar, and Balkh provinces, bringing the total number of deaths in Afghanistan from the coronavirus to 36.
According to AFP’s report on Saturday, Kabul is currently under lockdown in an effort to stem the spread of the Chinese coronavirus across the capital. All government offices have been closed. The shutdown was recently extended for three more weeks.