Afghanistan: At Least 20 Staffers At President Ghani’s Palace Test Coronavirus Positive, Says Report

At least 20 staff members of Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani’s palace have tested positive with the novel coronavirus, news agency AFP reported two officials as saying on Saturday (18 April). President Ghani so far has not shown any signs of contraction.

"Twenty-odd people are infected with COVID-19 in the presidential palace. However, it is (being) kept under wraps to ensure no panic is caused," one government official said.

Another official, while confirming these numbers, said 12 more officials from the president's administrative office had also been infected by the virus.

However as per the report, the spokesperson of President Ghani refused to comment of the news and referred queries to the health ministry, which did not comment either. The Ministry it was not disclosing the identity of COVID-19 patients.

The country currently has 933 officially reported cases, while 33 people have died. However, it has been feared by experts that the real numbers might be much higher given that the nation has had limited testing capacity.

Capital city of Kabul, due to the virus outbreak, has been in lockdown for a while, which recently got extended for another three weeks.