ReliefWeb

Key Messages:

• People confirmed to have COVID-19: 299 (Source: Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) of Afghanistan)

• Deaths from COVID-19: 7

• Tests completed: 2,288

• Key concerns: Border crossing areas, movement restrictions, testing capacity, protective equipment for frontline workers, commodity prices, floods, plans for camp and camp-like quarantine sites, messaging and rumour management

Situation Overview:

According to Johns Hopkins University data, as of 4 April, 1.13m cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed and 60,874 deaths have been reported across 181 countries and territories. The COVID-19 pandemic is straining health systems worldwide. WHO is calling on countries to balance the demands of responding directly to COVID-19, while maintaining essential health services. WHO has stressed that to defeat the virus, countries need to use aggressive and targeted tactics. Aggressive measures to find, test, isolate and treat cases, as well as trace contacts are not only the best and fastest way out of social and economic restrictions – they are also the best way to prevent them. WHO further calls on governments to put in place social welfare measures to ensure vulnerable people have food and other life essentials during this crisis. WHO, the World Bank and the IMF are calling for debt relief for developing countries to avoid economic collapse, as many will struggle to implement social welfare programs at this time. On 2 April, the World Bank approved a US$100 million grant to support Afghanistan to slow and limit the spread of COVID-19 through enhanced detection, surveillance, and laboratory systems, as well as strengthening essential health care delivery and intensive care.

In Afghanistan, MoPH data shows that 299 people across 22 provinces are now confirmed to have the virus and seven people have now died. Importantly, 88 out of the 299 total COVID-19 cases have no confirmed travel history abroad. Hirat is still the most affected part of the country, now with 204 of the confirmed cases. To date,
MoPH reports that 2,288 tests have been conducted. To scale-up testing efforts, WHO has supported the Government to establish two testing facilities in Kabul, one in Hirat, one in Mazar-e-Sharif and one in Nangarhar province. Additional testing facilities are also expected to begin operations in Kandahar and Paktya provinces. Altogether, the Government plans to expand to 15 testing facilities across the country within the month.

Quarantine measures are being implemented for people who are either suspected or confirmed to have the virus. There are concerns that this is not being implemented in a consistent manner nationally with sub-optimal quarantine and isolation practices being applied in some locations. Humanitarian partners stress that quarantine and isolation should only be conducted for people presenting with symptoms of COVID-19 and no more than one person should be housed in one room or tent. Partners also stress that when quarantine is organised in public facilities, strict gender separation should be observed so that men and women are not kept in the same rooms, unless they are close relatives. OCHA is in the process of developing an Afghanistan-specific guidance note on home isolation/quarantine in overcrowded settings.

A number of provinces have instituted measures to limit the exposure of residents to COVID-19. In Kabul and Hirat these include ‘measured lockdowns’ which have resulted in closures of sections of each city and/or limits on the number of people travelling together. Details of how these are being implemented in different regions can be found in previous days’ COVID-19 Daily Briefs. The Government’s Emergency Committee for Prevention of COVID-19, which meets every twodays, met again on 31 March and has indicated that any interruptions to UN and NGO operations related to COVID-19 movement restrictions would be resolved soon. Regarding NGO movements that may sometimes be undertaken in unmarked vehicles, the Committee added that staff ID cards will be accepted to allow them to move freely in Kabul and other provinces. On 1 April, the Kabul Chief of Police broadly shared a radio announcement informing all police at checkpoints to allow movement of NGO personnel. Humanitarian partners urge the Government to employ a national approach to these issues so that individual negotiations are not required on a case-by-case basis. Humanitarian partners ask the Government to waive restrictions on movement for all essential and critical items, especially humanitarian and health cargo.

UN agencies and non-government organisations are supporting the government’s preparedness, containment and mitigation measures. Extensive risk communication and community engagement is underway countrywide; 34,000 polio surveillance volunteers are carrying out disease surveillance and case identification in all provinces; and the authorities working at the borders with Iran and Pakistan have been equipped to carry out their work in a safe manner. Local procurement of key relief such as soap has been expedited. The humanitarian community UN remains committed to continue its work as a partner to Afghanistan’s government and its people during this new crisis which comes against the backdrop of continued conflict, grinding poverty and natural disaster.