Turkmenistan: Hermit nation yet to take major coronavirus hit

ANKARA There are no reported cases of COVID-19 at present in Turkmenistan, according to the UN Resident Coordinator in the Central Asian country. WHO has not been notified of any such cases by country's health authorities, Elena Panova told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview. Turkmenistan, like many other countries, has undertaken "serious measures" to prepare and prevent the pandemic, Panova said. "The Government of Turkmenistan reports zero cases, which gives an opportunity for the country to continue preparations and strengthen the health system for the possible spread of epidemics." On protecting people from the virus, Turkmenistan is introducing a number of measures including risk communication, travel restrictions, country entry points screening, testing, tracing and isolating suspected cases, she said. Panova underlined that the government with the support of the UN prepared the Country Preparedness and Response Plan, which has been developed as a tool to best assess the needs and activate support. A joint working group between Turkmenistan's government and the UN on socio-economic impact has been established with the aim to discuss possible support of the UN agencies to the government-led measures to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the pandemic, she added. The UN official said that she believes that the country is not much affected by the pandemic because of multiple factors such as "timely restriction measures" imposed by the government, diverting international flights to the international airport in the second-largest city of Turkmenabat, where a quarantine zone was established, as well as introducing a "very strict protocol" at the points of entry, including two-weeks quarantine for those entering the country. "We trust that once the pandemic is over, Turkmenistan will share like other countries its experience and lessons learned during the process of preparedness," she said. No 'one size fits all' policy on COVID-19 tests WHO recommends testing all COVID-19 suspected cases as much as possible, Panova said, adding that there is no “one size fits all” policy on testings. Asked about the strategies the country implements on testing the suspects, she said that different testing strategies are appropriate at different stages of an outbreak and the ideal number of tests to conduct will also vary over time. "We do not have official figures on the exact number of available tests, however, as reported by the Government, a sufficient number of tests have been procured. The number of people in the quarantine centers is a dynamic figure but according to recent data from MoH [Health Ministry] there are around 200 people in the quarantine centers who are mainly Turkmen truck drivers," she said. Briefing on COVID-19 On Friday, Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan, hosted an international online briefing in the healthcare sphere amid pandemic with the attendance of top governmental officials, as well as heads and representatives of the foreign diplomatic missions and representations of the international organizations, and foreign press members. Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov said his country has established close contacts with WHO, UN, and its specialized bodies and agencies on coronavirus. He reiterated that Turkmenistan has called on the international community to establish a council of medical scientists to unite efforts against the novel outbreak, adding that share of experience and knowledge in combating pandemic is very essential. The top diplomat said that the country had taken a set of large-scale measures to prevent the spread of the infection, while the border and migration bodies have been reinforced, and restriction was imposed on Turkmenistan’s air traffic with foreign countries. The country implements 14-day quarantine for people entering Turkmenistan from the virus-affected countries, he said. Minister of Healthcare and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan Nurmuhammet Amannepesov said that the government established a special anti-epidemics commission as well as formed non-stop functioning interdepartmental operational headquarters on COVID-19 under the Health Ministry. He went on to say that the healthcare system in the country was quickly mobilized to counter the possible appearance of the virus. The minister added that awareness-building on battling the coronavirus was well done in the society, adding that the people were advised to follow hygiene measures and keep a healthy lifestyle to reduce the risk of virus. In the case of registering coronavirus infected patients, there have been additionally organized infectious departments and prepared reanimation and intensive care units in hospitals, the minister said. After originating in China last December, COVID-19 has spread to at least 187 countries and regions. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions. The global death toll from the pandemic surpassed 275,000, with total infections over 3.95 million, while recoveries have passed 1.33 million, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.