Eastern Province

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The officials are tested at the beginning of the enforcement of social distancing

Dr. Yousef was The First in His Family to for Covid-19 - and to die for The First to.

"He Came Home and said, 'I don't feel good and I think I have a virus"," Behtarin Paktiawal says to me, is reminiscent of what was a disastrous day for His Family . You would end up losing three loved ones to The Virus , what is stalking Afghanistan and is at a pace and extent are still dangerously insecure.

For an embattled nation, already struggling on several fronts, The World 's health crisis is still threatening another disaster to overwhelm a fragile health, and exhausting the people are tired of endless war.

And with each week that passes, both the violence and The Virus spread.

Paktiawal's brother, Dr. Yousef Khan Ariubi, had a positive effect Covid-19 - But he was not at his test results. He had expected, from the Afghan-Japan the government hospital in Kabul, which plays a Central role in Afghanistan, the fight against the coronavirus.

"I said to them," why didn't you call us?'" Paktiawal, told how he had hidden a small photo album cradle with a photo of his brother in the plastic lid. "You told me that you have made a mistake. "Then The Hospital is tested for the whole family.

A month and a half, he says, that their results is Still Missing - But wait, his brother Fazel and sister Gul Khumar have also died.

Behtarin Paktiawal weigh a small album with photos of his deceased brother

"you are absolutely right When you Say people have died, because it gives no test equipment", the Afghan Vice-President Amrullah Saleh .

"is My answer to this test equipment is so rare that even if we had a billion dollars in spare money to buy them, they were available everywhere. "A global race for raw materials has him in the poorer Nations, as his own on the back of the queue.

"This is a nation came as a Surprise to us - in the midst of violence and war, and dealing with so much internal displacement," Mr Saleh emphasized. "Our health infrastructure was not designed for a hyper-event, such as a Corona-Virus-pandemic. "

Afghans die every week from The War against The Taliban and the extremist groups like the Islamic state, and many more could be killed by hunger, When there is a strict down, as prescribed throughout The World to curb the spread of the highly contagious virus.

with the Afghan leadership have also been distracted, and resources drained by a fierce, months-long struggle for power between President Ashraf Ghani and his Challenger, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah , who has only just resolved.

"first of all, the Problem is not taken seriously enough And Then they were too ambitious with the announcement of the plans and goals," an official of aid in Kabul involved in the mobilization of resources, she tells me. "But now you are going in The Right direction. "

If Paktiawal Stand outside of the Afghan-Japan hospital, wearing a mask to record a angry Facebook to call for help, he came finally to the attention of senior health officials.

"I think The Service is better," he says, while explaining that rich and poor must be treated equally - an echo of complaints that the powerful are, again, vaulting to the front, When It Comes to keeping well.

But The Situation is still breathtakingly fragile.

A few weeks ago, all Tests at all labs abruptly stopped, if the country of the reagents, a substance critical in checking for Covid-19 delivery, because the global supply ran short.

"I've had many Sleepless Nights ," recalls Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the head of The World Health organization (WHO) in Afghanistan. "We have managed a small amount, and the Tests continue, within Two Days . "

Eid approaches, some mosques have implemented social distancing

Two months ago, Afghanistan had no functioning laboratories for Covid-19. Now nine Test centres, established with the support of WHO, running across the country to expand with plans for more.

"We certainly need more studies to give us a better handle on how The Virus spread," says Dr. Peeperkorn, has spent seven years on the health care system in Afghanistan. "Resources are scarce and the global solidarity. "

in Afghanistan, a relatively small number of cases, both positive and a puzzle. As of March 19, there was a little More Than 7,600 confirmed cases and less than 200 Dead . This is in stark contrast to the neighboring country of Iran, with More Than 122,000 cases and 7,000 confirmed Dead and with the strong suspicion of The Real toll is far higher.

A nervous question mark is still the swaying, hovering over The Massive influx of More Than 200,000 Afghans across The Border , as soon as The Virus struck.

UN officials Say they believe the disease can only reach its peak in Afghanistan in a month or so - But there are concerns it may be spreading undetected, as The Anxious and sick, fear of hospital stays, and The Social stigma of this strange new disease.

And a current sample of 500 Kabul residents sent more Alarm Bells are ringing, When almost 30% tested positive.

'Social distancing is difficult, in our culture,'

As countries around The World , the Afghan media is now flooded with messaging about "social distancing" and "wash hands".

In The Eastern Nangarhar province, Governor Shah Mahmood Miakhel, who has to establish to itself its own content, a special Corona-Fund account, trying to set a good example.

"I kept shaking the hands, three months ago," he says When I reach him by phone in the provincial capital of Jalalabad. When Old Friends and notables showed up for The Funeral of a prominent Police Chief , who came from his district, he doesn't buckle under enormous social pressure.

"was it, to accept It is very difficult for the people," reflected he. "I'm happy with my decision, But social distance in our culture is extremely difficult. "

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As of The End of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan approaches, with its special rituals of shopping for the Eid celebration, to lock in some of the larger cities have been relaxed. But Afghan officials intensify their warnings as The Number of cases is rising higher.

weeks, bazaars throughout the country, lost its hustle and bustle as shopkeepers dutifully locked shops. But there are still children working on The Streets , some clutching a stack of face to sell masks so their families can eat.

Zabiullah, one of the millions of day laborers, again on a Kabul market with its stainless cart. It is all he has, the difference between hope and hunger.

He tried to stay At Home , But , says a state program to distribute bread to the poorest by bakeries past him.

"no one came to Help Me , even with a [piece of] bread", he complains. "I'm hungry. Coronavirus does not kill us, But in any case, we are going to die from hunger. "

', the people had dared to hope, for peace'

the"12. 4 million people in severe food insecurity in The Coming months, threatening a third step away from the famine," warns Toby Lanzer , the UN humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan. "We need to scale up in a significant way now, people hold on to life. "

- lock, which in more prosperous Nations can afford to develop great safety, for the protection of the health systems under pressure.

Afghan Doctors , not all have seen almost all, But this - Say , make you feel exposed. You do not want your name to be known, But want their stories to be told.

"We lost three good Doctors in This Week of the Covid," a Kabul doctor tells me on a phone call in the din of a busy hospital. It is his first day back at work after recovering from Covid-19.

"were you in contact with a suspected Covid patients, you are not good enough, PSA, and unfortunately you are no longer With Us . "

Doctors are working in Afghanistan under difficult conditions (file photo)

From the province of Faryab in Northern Afghanistan, another doctor stated that "many of the older physicians have closed their clinics because they are At Risk and not enough protection".

In Herat, the worst-hit province borders Iran, to talk to the Doctors of lack of critical equipment such as ventilators and protective clothing in the intensive care unit, and the twice-daily risks of the "we are all traveling on a minibus with no distance Between Us ."

And in The South , close to The Taliban front line, the Doctors in The Emergency NGO hospital in Lashkar Gah , are disinfecting and distancing. But in your operating rooms, you are the treatment of victims of violence, not The Virus .

afghanistan, taliban, coronavirus lockdown measures, coronavirus pandemic, coronavirus testing

Source of news: bbc.com