On 14 May, Tajikistan’s Health Ministry reported a total of 907 COVID-19 cases and 29 deaths from the virus so far. For a country that was in denial about the local spread of the virus for weeks and only announced its first cases on 30 April, these rising numbers indicate that cases may surge uncontrollably very soon.
Many have been sceptical of the Tajik administration’s reportage of the coronavirus, doubting its coronavirus free status all through April. On 21 April, a member from the World Health Organization (WHO) office in Tajikistan also corroborated the government’s claims of being virus-free. This came despite the rising number of mysterious deaths, including those of medical staff and doctors, allegedly from pneumonia and other diseases. Government officials continued to deny the registration of any coronavirus infections, attacking journalists reporting contrary news and accusing them of allegedly sowing panic among the people.
At the same time, the country's ruler Emomali Rahmon refused to implement a lockdown. The country only suspended its football tournaments on 26 April, and acknowledged its first 15 cases ahead of a visit of international WHO experts to the country. It is only after this spike in cases that schools, shops, and salons have been ordered to be closed. However, public transportation remains crowded, grocery stores and bazaars are still in operation, and social distancing is not being observed in most parts of the country. Most recently, Rahmon’s administration fired the country's Health Minister after weeks of downplaying the virus.
An alternative Tajik coronavirus tally has been created by citizens, where reports from hospitals and cemeteries are directly being tabulated online, which indicates that the death toll is more than 200 and that the picture on the ground is much grimmer than what is being reported. Further, there is currently there is only one laboratory in the capital that is authorized to carry out tests for the virus, and its capacity is at an abysmal 250 tests per day
The Tajik government has secured a $190 million loan from the International Monetary Fund to combat COVID-19 and has also received humanitarian aid from Kazakhstan and Iran as their medical facilities struggle to keep up with the rising number of cases. A World Bank report that drew out a sliding scale of possible COVID-19 scenarios showing the worst possible outcome said, “Based on the data available today, depending on the prevalence of COVID-19 infection in Tajikistan, the disease may cause between 72,000 and 230,500 severe infections, between 13,600 and 43,500 critical infections requiring intensive care, and between 6,600 and 21,000 deaths.”
A Dushanbe-based virologist told Eurasianet that if the country starts introducing lockdown measures, it would reach a plateau of infections within the next three months. However, they also said that this critical incubation time has been lost and that restrictive measures should have been introduced in February. The government’s constant inaction and its denial of the virus have led to this chaotic situation. Emomali’s administration has also been blind to the plight of almost half a million of its migrant workers who are currently stuck in Russia.
Image Source: Eurasianet
Tajikistan On Course For Central Asia’s Worst COVID-19 Outbreak
For months, the Tajik government reported that it had zero cases.
May 15, 2020
