At least 20 employees of the Afghan Presidential Palace have tested positive for the novel coronavirus out of 517 samples examined, according to the media report.
Sources said that 10 groups of medics from the Public Health Ministry have begun taking samples from other officials and staff members of the Presidential Palace after the cases were identified, according to the TOLO News report on Friday.
Doctors said that there a need for more test kits, as testing will slow the spread of the virus in the country.
“We will get the best results if we have enough kits,” said Assadullah Esmat, head of the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Kabul.
“By testing more people, we can find patients who have the virus while it is in its incubation period.”
The Public Health Ministry on Friday reported 37 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the overall tally of infections to 521, with 15 deaths.
On Thursday, the government said a staggered prisoner release process would continue despite the Taliban’s withdrawal in protest against what it called an unacceptable initiative for peace.
On the other hand, the Afghan government blamed the Taliban for the delay, claiming the insurgents had been insisting on the release of 15 top militant commanders who have been involved in big attacks.
The government said that it was “open” to continue technical talks with the Taliban “to advance the peace process” to end the 19-year long deadly conflict in the country.
The plan was to start with the withdrawal of 8,600 soldiers within 135 days from the date of the signing of the deal. Currently, some 14,000 US troops remain deployed in the country.
The global death toll from the coronavirus topped 100,000, according to the report.
China’s Wuhan city, where the pandemic began, is still testing residents regularly despite relaxing its tough two-month lockdown.
(With inputs from agency)