Afghanistan resumed international flights after a three months-long pause as it has recorded its lowest daily infections since 13 May, amid a dropping number of daily tests.
Turkish Airlines will be the first aviation company that resumes its flights from Kabul to Turkey after almost three months. The flights will be under special health measures, according to company officials.
Afghan officials said that local aviation companies have also resumed their abroad flights. “We have imposed mandatory measures for health safety in order to begin our flights, local companies have also resumed their flights,” said Mohammad Qasim Wafaeezada, head of Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority.
The country’s health ministry has detected 234 new coronavirus infections to coronavirus – the lowest daily rise since 13 May – from 651 tests in the last 24 hours as 21 more patients died from the virus, taking the total number of infections to 29,715 and the death toll to 639. There have been 9,869 recoveries.
The health ministry had previously said that it was unable to increase testing due to a lack of laboratories and an overload of suspected patients, adding medical workers would determine new coronavirus patients through their symptoms, rather than tests. The health ministry has said multiple times it has capacity of 2,000 tests a day, but never reached the number.
Kabul still leads new daily infections as most new cases (124) have been reported in the capital and four patients died from the virus overnight. Kabul is the country’s worst-affected area in both the number of confirmed cases and deaths with 12,309 cases and 151 deaths.
Most new deaths were reported in the western province of Herat as 11 patients died from the virus overnight.
Meanwhile, the war is raging on with full intensity across the country as 17 Taliban and four security forces were killed in a clash in Helmand on Tuesday night after the Taliban attacked security checkpoints, local officials said on Wednesday.
The western province of Badghis was also a battlefield last night as at least 10 security forces were killed in a Taliban attack.
Last week was the “deadliest” in 19 years of war as at least 988 Afghan security forces and civilians were killed and wounded, according to the country’s National Security Council.
