Third wave ‘detected’ as 166 new COVID cases reported

The Ministry of Public Health on Sunday reported 166 new cases of COVID-19 out of 1,922 samples tested in the last 24 hours.

The ministry also reported five deaths and 119 recoveries from COVID-19 in the same period.

The new cases were reported in Kabul (44), Nangarhar (33), Kandahar (22), Herat (11), Balkh (1), Takhar (5), Baghlan (1), Kunduz (1), Parwan (1), Bamiyan (4), Maidan Wardak (6), Badakhshan (4), Kunar (3), Laghman (16), Panjshir (3), Uruzgan (3) and Farah (8) provinces.

The ministry reported that the cumulative total of known COVID-19 cases is 60,288, the total number of reported deaths is 2,642, and the total number of recoveries is 53,391.

So far, 406,816 samples have been tested in government centers and there are 4,255 known active COVID-19 cases in the country, data by the ministry indicates.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Public Health said at a consultative meeting held at the Presidential Palace on the management of the virus that the third wave of COVID-19 has been detected in Afghanistan.

The acting minister Wahid Majrooh added that the virus was moving from east to west and most cases were recorded in Nangarhar, Laghman, Kandahar, Kabul, Herat, Nimroz and a few in Khost province.

Majrooh says the coronavirus testing center now has 24 laboratories in 18 provinces, and this will be extended to all provinces by the end of June.

President Ashraf Ghani told the meeting that vaccines and oxygen supplies should be prioritized and vulnerable areas should be focused on.