Over 120 government employees have been exposed to the Coronavirus due to poor precautions in service offices in Herat. The infected employees are currently in-home quarantine.

They are fine, say public health officials. A research conducted by Ariana in Herat shows that the recklessness of government employees and visitors has led to the transmission of the virus.

The findings of the study show that 4 employees of the Department of Transportation, 3 employees of the Water Supply Department, 4 employees of the Municipality, 3 employees of the Tax Department, 5 employees of the Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, 75 employees of the Public Health Department, 10 policemen, 4 employees of the Herat Ambulance, 3 provincial employees, including the head of Human Resources, 11 imams, and 8 employees of the Herat Customs Department, have been exposed to the virus.

Head of Herat’s Public Health Department Dr. Abdul Hakim Tamana, says the communicatory virus has hiked due to the irresponsible conduct of government employees and the citizens. “If this doesn’t change, it could exacerbate the Coronavirus disaster in the near future,” he added.

At the same time, a number of government officials in Herat underline that there are no sufficient health gears in the office to fight the virus.

Sharif Ahmad, a government employee, says they are given a number a mask and pair of gloves for a whole week, even though they deal with a large number of visitors every day.

“Although three of our employees have been infected by the virus, no action has been taken to disinfect the premises,” he said.

At the same time, Engineer Ratib Hamim, head of water supply authority, confirms that one of his employees has been infected with the virus.

Hamim says they are a service provider, and they have continued to work for the past two months despite the quarantine. “People who come to the office do not have masks and do not follow safety measures,” he says.

Ghulam Hazrat Mushfeq, the mayor of Herat, also confirms the transmission of the COVID19 in service administrations, adding that the process of disinfecting public places and some government offices is being carried out on daily basis.

Recently, in a press conference, the governor of Herat ordered the entire service to pay extra attention to healthcare guidelines and wear masks at all times.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ibrahim Mohammadi, head of Herat Ambulances, emphasizes that the number of people living with the coronavirus in Herat is still the rise.

“Most people are scared of being hospitalized at COVID19 wards – hiding that they have been contracted and/or going into home quarantine,” Mohammadi said.

He also confirms that over 120 employees of various government administrations across the city have been infected with the deadly Coronavirus.

It is noteworthy that Herat is the epicenter of the COVID19 in Afghanistan and was the first province exposed to the virus in late February 2020.