Afghanistan finds first infection

Kabul, Feb 24: Afghanistan has detected its first novel Covid-19 case, the country’s health minister said on Monday, a day after Kabul announced it would suspend air and ground travel to Iran, where 12 people have died from the outbreak.

“I announce the first positive Covid-19 (case) in Herat,” health minister Firozuddin Feroz told a press conference, calling on citizens to avoid travel to the western province which borders Iran. Afghan authorities had earlier announced a suspension of suspend air and ground travel to Iran, as fears mount across the region over a jump in new covid-19 infections.

Iran has registered the highest number of fatalities outside China, the epicentre of the epidemic. Feroz said the patient had travelled to the Iranian holy city of Qom. “Our people should avoid handshakes, hugging and kissing,” he added.

Both Afghanistan and Pakistan share long, porous borders with Iran that are often used by smugglers and human traffickers, while millions of Afghan refugees currently live in the Islamic Republic — raising fears that the virus could easily spread over the border. Desperate and jobless Afghans have crossed the porous border with Iran for years in search of work to support their struggling families back home.

— AP Afghanistan Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz at a news conference in Kabul, on Monday, after one of three persons suspected of having the coronavirus tested positive in western Herat province.