Afghanistan at ‘crisis point’ as Covid-19 cases up 2,400% in a month

Afghanistan is witnessing its worst Covid-19 wave since the start of the pandemic as it deals with a vaccine shortfall exacerbated by a high level of hesitancy.

The International Committee of the Red Cross on Thursday said that Afghanistan is at a “crisis point” as the country has reported a 2,400% surge in coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in the past month. Afghanistan is witnessing its worst Covid-19 wave since the start of the pandemic, with the curve of total active infection cases and related deaths showing an exponential rise. ICRC said that more than a third of Covid-19 tests last week came back positive.

A man waits outside a factory to get his oxygen cylinder refilled amidst the Covid-19 surge in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Reuters)

“Afghanistan is at a crisis point in the battle to contain Covid-19 as hospital beds are full to capacity in the capital Kabul and in many areas,” Nilab Mobarez, acting president of the Afghan Red Crescent Society, said in a statement released by the ICRC.

Afghanistan’s health infrastructure has already been strained due to decades of war and violence has risen in recent months with the gradual withdrawal of US troops. Mobarez warned that the surge is rapidly spiralling out of control adding huge pressures on the country’s fragile health system and millions of people living in poverty

“We fear that we are just a heartbeat away from the kind of horror that we have already seen in countries like India and Nepal,” she added.

Afghan health authorities on Thursday registered 2,313 new Covid-19 cases and a record 101 deaths from the infection in the last 24 hours. Officials and experts have said low testing means those official figures are probably a dramatic undercount. Meanwhile, Afghanistan is also dealing with a vaccine shortfall exacerbated by a high level of hesitancy, with less than 0.5% of the population having been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

“Covid-19 is another cruel blow for millions of Afghans already dealing with the constant threat of violence, displacement, food insecurity and poverty. We’re seeing large numbers of people having to make terrible choices between finding a way to feed their families and growing risks of getting sick,” Necephor Mghendi, head of Afghanistan country delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said in a statement.