The first COVID-19 case in Afghanistan was recorded in late-February in Herat province. It then quickly spread to other provinces in March as tens of thousands of migrant workers crossed the border from Iran back into Afghanistan.

Due to an increase in the number of people with severe COVID-19 in Herat, the MSF COVID-19 centre in Gazer Gah, Herat – which had been on standby since September – reopened in December, as the Ministry of Public Health’s facility in Shaydayee could not respond to the increasing needs.

MSF is also continuing to run the COVID-19 triage unit at the Herat Regional Hospital where people are screened before entering the hospital and in case they show related symptoms, they will be provided with medicine and encouraged to self-isolate at home. They are often followed up through phone calls on specific days to monitor their progress.

MSF is screening patients for COVID-19 at the MSF clinic in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp, Kahdestan.