ASHGABAT (TCA) — Authorities in Turkmenistan are battling to keep a coronavirus “outbreak” secret as infection numbers rise in the only Central Asian state that continues to insist it is COVID-19-free, RFE/RL reports citing Turkmen medical professionals.
Two doctors died at the Choganly infectious-diseases hospital outside the capital last week after allegedly contracting the virus at the same facility, according to health officials in Ashgabat who requested anonymity.
The doctors, who had been under quarantine for several days, died on June 15 and 16, the sources told an RFE/RL Turkmen Service correspondent.
Along with North Korea and a handful of Pacific island nations, Turkmenistan hasn’t acknowledged a single coronavirus infection.
Medics who were not authorized to publicly discuss the situation told RFE/RL that the Turkmen outbreak is getting “out of control,” with new cases being recorded in almost all regions.
Several people with suspected COVID-19 symptoms were admitted to the central regional hospital in Lebap Province on June 18 and 19, a provincial health official told RFE/RL.
“All of them tested positive for coronavirus. Among them is a local doctor,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
Another source in Lebap told RFE/RL the hospital was put under quarantine after a nurse tested positive for the virus on June 8.
“Hospital employees are now required to get regular tests [for coronavirus], but the authorities don’t inform them about the test results,” the source said.
RFE/RL could not independently verify any of the claims.
Reliable numbers are difficult to obtain in Turkmenistan, which has little or no experience with independent media and freedom of information does not exist.
“Officially, we don’t have a coronavirus case,” a Turkmen Health Ministry official told RFE/RL on June 18. “We can’t give you any further information.”
Source: TCA
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