Afghan gov’t closes educational centers as precautionary measures to fight COVID-19
By The government of Afghanistan has decided to temporarily shut down educational centers and training courses as 16 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the militancy-plagued country. Wahid Mayar, the spokesman for Public Health Ministry, said on Sunday that “16 positive cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed and of these, 10 are in the western Herat, three in the northern Samangan, one in Balkh, another in Kapisa and another has been detected in the central Daikundi province.”
As a precautionary measure, the government has postponed for one month the start of educational year, a statement of Presidential Palace said. It also noted that the pause could be extended, depending on the situation. The statement also called upon all the government and private entities to avoid holding conferences or seminars as a precautionary measure to contain the disease.
The educational year was supposed to start on March 22.
The Afghan government has already cancelled celebration of Nawroz or Afghan New Year in Persian calendar which falls on March 20. The government has allocated 25 million U.S. dollars to combat the COVID-19 epidemic.