Disaster coming as beds run out, warns Kabul governor

AFGHAN health officials say the impoverished country faces disaster as cases of coronavirus increase and hospital beds run out.

“Our (hospital) beds are almost full, we won’t have any more capacity very soon,” Ahmad Jawad Osmani, the health minister, said yesterday.

“There is a disaster coming,” added Mohammad Yakub Haidary, the governor of the capital, Kabul, at a joint press conference with Mr Osmani.

“We have reports of increasing suspected deaths, people burying dead bodies at night. We fill 10-15 ambulances with dead people every day.”

Authorities reported 761 new positive cases of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, taking the total number of confirmed infections to 19,551. Mr Haidary said in Kabul alone there could be a million people infected with the deadly virus.

Afghanistan is able to test only about 20 per cent of suspected cases.

Many residents have largely ignored the nationwide lockdown, with daily wage earners taking their chances with the disease rather than lose work.

Mr Osmani said that from today the authorities would strictly impose measures including wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing for the next three months.

The International Rescue Committee warned last week that Afghanistan was on the brink of a health crisis after confirmed cases spiked by 684 per cent in May. It has one of the highest rates of tests coming back positive, indicating high levels of undetected infections.

The spike came after the country grappled with rising violence in recent months that diverted vital attention and resources away from the fight against the disease.