The president of Turkmenistan, a reclusive country in Central Asia which ensures that it is not affected by the coronavirus pandemic, on Sunday inaugurated a new hospital for patients with “infectious patients”.
Gourbangouly Berdymoukhamedov hailed on this occasion the “great success” of his country which has “no case of coronavirus recorded to date” thanks to the “preventive measures” taken by the authorities, according to state media.
The new hospital inaugurated by the President of Turkmenistan has 200 beds and is capable of treating a series of “infectious diseases of the respiratory tract” and “diseases transmitted by airborne droplets,” the state newspaper said. Netralny Turkmenistan.
The facility is equipped with Swedish-made artificial respiration devices, according to the same source.
Although Turkmenistan, one of the most closed countries in the world, claims to have been spared by the pandemic, the authorities have nevertheless called on the population in recent months to wear protective masks, officially due to high concentrations of “dust ” in the air.
They also closed borders to foreigners, restricted train and bus connections and limited the activity of restaurants, places of worship and most shops.
Turkmenistan has nevertheless organized in recent months many large public events, including a large bicycle parade to promote a healthy lifestyle.
Only a handful of states in the world say they have escaped the coronavirus pandemic, including Turkmenistan, North Korea and isolated islands in the Pacific.
The World Health Organization (WHO) for its part said in July to be “concerned” by information reporting an increasing number of “pneumonia” in Turkmenistan, recommending that the government adopt measures “as if the Covid-19 was circulating ”.
With the exception of Turkmenistan, all the countries of Central Asia admitted to having great difficulty in containing the epidemic of coronavirus.