The number of positive cases of coronavirus and the death rate due to this virus has increased. According to statistics, 1,379 people have been infected with the virus in the past day alone, and another 50 have died. The growing number of people infected with the corona virus has raised concerns among provincial health officials. Provincial Public Health Department officials say there could be a lack of oxygen if the situation continues like this. They call on the Ministry of Public Health to take measures to prevent oxygen shortages to prevent a “catastrophe”. The Ministry of Public Health, meanwhile, acknowledges that oxygen shortages are a major challenge. Ministry officials stress that they need to find a solution to supply oxygen. According to these officials, the Ministry of Public Health is trying to purchase oxygen-generating devices from global markets and import them into the country. However, the problem of oxygen deficiency is felt in most countries. However, officials at the Ministry of Public Health criticize the public for not cooperating in preventing the spread of the corona virus. According to them, the citizens of the country do not follow the health measures and participate in the gatherings in a reckless way. According to these officials, the recklessness of the people has caused the country to be at the “peak of a catastrophe”. However, Ministry of Public Health officials are urging people to follow the recommendations of the Ministry of Public Health to control the third wave of the Corona virus.
The corona virus spread after Eid al-Fitr and the number of infected people increased; Since Eid, more than a thousand people are infected with the virus every day, while before Eid, an average of 100 to 400 people were infected with this virus daily. However, 1,379 people became infected with the virus yesterday, and another 50 died of corona virus. This data is inclusive of recorded cases from all over the country. Now a number of provincial health officials have expressed concern over the situation and told the 8 Sobh newspaper that if the situation continues like this, a catastrophe could occur.
Abdul Hamid Jakfar Alemi, director of the Covid-19 Hospital in Parwan province, said that since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, nearly 9,000 suspected samples have been tested, including 1,300 in the first and second waves and another 401 in the third wave are tested positive. He added that the number of patients in the third wave is higher than in the first and second waves, and currently 112 patients are hospitalized in this hospital. Mr. Alemi stated that most of these patients are in dire need of oxygen. The head of covid-19 Hospital in Parwan province expressed concerns over the lack of oxygen, saying that 20 oxygen balloons are provided to the hospital daily. He added that given the rate of corona patients, oxygen deficiency is extremely problematic.
Abdul Maaref Nosrati, director of the covid 19 Hospital in Panjshir province, expressed concerns over the rising number of positive corona cases in the province. He told 8 Sobh newspaper that 100 to 150 people come to the hospital every day for corona tests. The percentage of positive cases in this province is 73%. However, he added that 957 people have been infected with the corona virus since the beginning of the pandemic. Mr. Nosrati stated that although covid-19 Hospital has a capacity of 15 beds in the province, 22 covid patients are hospitalized in this hospital and the condition of some of them are critical. The director of covid-19 Hospital in Panjshir province described the lack of oxygen as one of the main problems and said that a solution should be found to solve this problem.
Shafiq Hamdard, head of the Faizabad-Badakhshan provincial hospital, also said that a third wave of the coronavirus is spreading in the province. According to him, since the beginning of the corona virus outbreak, more than 1,200 people in Badakhshan province have been infected with the virus. According to him, in just a few days, out of 193 suspicious samples, 117 were positive. Several people have also died during the third wave. Mr. Hamdard said that despite the increasing number of positive cases of corona virus in the province, the Ministry of Public Health has reduced the number of staff at covid-19 Hospital. In addition, he noted that initially there were 20 beds for covid-19 Hospital in the province, but later it was planned to increase by 35 beds. Mr. Hamdard clarified that this promise has not been fulfilled by the Ministry of Public Health so far.
Officials at Badakhshan Provincial Hospital, meanwhile, said the hospital was facing a lack of oxygen and that a “humanitarian crisis” would occur if oxygen was not provided.
Kandahar province also faces the same problem. This province has the highest number of registered corona cases after Kabul and Herat. More than 5,300 people have been infected with corona virus since the outbreak began. Mohammad Tawos Ashraf Naderi, Kandahar’s director of public health, said the province’s hospital currently has 100 beds and is set to increase in capacity. At the same time, he stressed that the number of staff will be increased. He added that with the incline in corona cases, we may experience lack of oxygen.
On the other hand, Dr. Abdulmutallab Hamed, Director of covid-19 Hospital in Kapisa Province, assures the process of providing services to the people of this province. He told the 8 Sobh newspaper that there were no serious problems with the delivery of services at the covid-19 hospital in the province and that the third wave of the corona virus would be contained. Mr. Hamed stated that in the third wave of the Corona virus, 376 people were infected with this virus, of which 180 were men and 196 were women. He added that 19 people are currently hospitalized in covid-19 Hospital in the province. Mr. Hamed added that the problem with lack of oxygen has not been felt in this province so far and the Ministry of Public Health provides 15 to 20 oxygen cylinders to this province daily.
Bamyan; “PCR machines do not have the capacity to test all samples”
Hussain Ali Mustamandyar, head of Covid-19 program in Bamyan, told 8 Sobh that the incidence of coronavirus had increased in the province. He said that at the beginning of last week, ten Corona patients were admitted to the 20-bed covid-19 hospital, but by the end of the week, the number of patients had risen to 28. According to Mustamandyar, these statistics show that the corona outbreak in Bamyan province is nearing its peak. Mr. Mustamandyar added that the number of people wanting to get tested is high and PCR machines are not able to test all suspicious samples. So far, 5,074 samples have been tested in Bamyan, of which 3,856 samples have been found to be negative. Another 200 samples are currently awaiting testing. In this province, the capacity of tests is reported to be low, while the Ministry of Public Health had previously said that it would increase the capacity of tests in the provinces. Ministry officials said the ministry is only capable of conducting 28,000 tests a day.
The head of Covid-19 programs of the Ministry of Public Health in Bamyan said that they have already decided to send some of the samples to Kabul. “The situation is such that we are moving towards the peak of the coronavirus outbreak,” he added. On the other hand, regarding the number of beds and the capacity of covid-19 Hospital in the province, Mr. Mustamandyar said that although the capacity is not complete, but there is some capacity. According to him, currently, there are beds and oxygen cylinders for patients, but since the province’s hospital has 20 beds, as the number of patients increases, the workload on staff increases and there will be machine shortages. Mr. Mustamandyar also stated that the corona vaccine in the province has expired. According to the Ministry of Public Health, 15,000 doses of vaccine were planned for the province, and according to the official, this amount of vaccine has been implemented. The head of Covid-19 programs at the Ministry of Public Health in Bamyan added that a large number had received only the first dose and should receive the second dose as well. There are currently 1,165 positive cases of coronavirus detected in the province, of which 19 have died.
Kabul University; Thousands are waiting to receive the second dose
Meanwhile, a number of Kabul residents, especially Kabul University professors, say that although more than a month has passed since they received their first dose, they are yet to receive the second dose. Zabihullah Haidari, a professor at Kabul University, wrote on his Facebook page that the weak management of the Ministry of Higher Education and Kabul University, lack of planning and perhaps corruption in the Ministry of Health and lack of proper coordination with Kabul University have caused thousands of students, professors and staff members of Kabul University to have difficulty having access to a second dose of corona vaccine. According to him, now that one week has passed from the due date, i.e. the fourth week, they have not received the second dose.
“The process of implementing the second dose of corona vaccine at Kabul University should have started on June 1st, but unfortunately only a few hundred limited doses were reserved for people over the age of 50 and some officials of the Ministry of Education and Kabul University,” he said. “The first round of vaccination was administered to people of all ages without any restrictions.” He called these shortcomings in the implementation of the vaccine questionable and said that if the number of corona vaccines were limited, why was it administered to thousands of people without age restrictions at Kabul University. He added that this issue should have been clarified between the university and the Ministry of Health to prevent unnecessary confusion among thousands of people. He said that based on clinical trials, the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine should be administered in the fourth week. Mr. Haidari added: “Now that it is the fifth week, who is to take responsibility? If the delay in the second dose questions the efficacy of the vaccine, who will be responsible for it? “If the delay in receiving the second dose causes side effects in people and endangers their health and life, who is to be held responsible?”
The university professor, states that, whereas, it may not be a problem to not receive the second dose of the vaccine on time, but its psychologically disturbing to the people. In addition, he asked: “Thousands of people at Kabul University received the first round of the Indian-type AstraZeneca vaccine, and now if the second dose of another type (such as the Chinese vaccine) is administered, are these two vaccines compatible?” Won’t it disrupt the recipient? “Has it ever been experienced that the first dose of the Indian vaccine and the second dose from another country are administered to one person, and have no side effects and are effective?”
The Ministry of Health is facing a lack of oxygen
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Health says it is facing a lack of oxygen. Ministry spokesman Ghulam Dastgir Nazari told the 8 Sobh newspaper that the Ministry of Public Health is trying to vaccinate more people. Regarding the concerns of Kabul University professors, he said that the minimum interval between the first dose and the second dose of Corona vaccine is four weeks, but according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization, the maximum interval between the two doses is sixteen weeks. Mr. Nazari pointed out that there is no difference in the effectiveness of the first and second doses. He assured that the Ministry of Public Health will administer the second dose of the vaccine to all those who have received the first dose before 16 weeks.
More than six million people have been vaccinated so far. The Ministry of Public Health has so far provided 968,000 doses of the vaccine. India has donated 500,000 doses of these vaccines and another 486,000 doses through the World Health Organization through the Covax program. However, China is expected to help with 700,000 doses of the vaccine. Earlier, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani had said that the government was making every effort to provide the vaccine. He had assured the people that the government would provide more vaccines from its budget.
On the other hand, the spokesman of the Ministry of Public Health called the lack of oxygen in the country a challenge. Although he said no hospital has ever been short of oxygen, the rise in corona cases has increased those concerns. Dastgir Nazari, criticized the people for not cooperating with the Ministry of Public Health. He said the country is at medical crisis due to the people not following the health recommendations. He added that the people’s disregard for protective measures against the virus has caused the situation to become more critical and worse. However, Mr. Nazari stated that the Ministry of Public Health has installed a number of oxygen generators in hospitals and is working to purchase more devices from international markets. He described the lack of oxygen as a “serious problem” and warned that it would be “more serious” if the situation continued. Meanwhile, the head of the Ministry of Public Health has repeatedly warned of a lack of oxygen. Recently, the head of the ministry called on private hospitals to save on oxygen consumption. On the other hand, he once again called on the people to take the health recommendations of the Ministry of Public Health seriously and not to participate in rallies.
On the other hand, the spokesman of the Ministry of Public Health said that the country has not yet reached the peak of the third wave. He expressed hope that the third wave would be controlled before reaching the peak.
It is worth mentioning that the first positive case of Corona virus was registered in the country on the February 4th 2020. The virus has peaked in cases three times since then. According to the Ministry of Public Health, 80,615 people have been infected with the virus so far, of which 58,622 have recovered and 3,195 have died.
