DM Monitoring
ASHGABAT: Turkmenistan’s Railways (Demiryollary) company has extended the suspension of trains operation until February 1, 2021, media reports with reference to Turkmenportal information portal. Traffic has been suspended as part of measures taken in the country to prevent the coronavirus from entering the country.
Earlier the restriction was introduced until January 1, 2021, and the movement of trains in the country was suspended from July 16. Also, earlier Turkmenistan introduced a mandatory COVID-19 absence certificate when registering for a flight.
Earlier, WHO/Europe experts worked in Turkmenistan at the request of the government, to support Turkmenistan in the aspects of preparedness and response to COVID-19.
During the visit, the sides held a meeting where Turkmenistan presented its program to fight infectious diseases. Furthermore, the Turkmen side noted that the country follows the WHO recommendations and is currently implementing a program to ensure preparedness for countering and responding to infectious diseases. In addition, Turkmenistan is working with UN agencies to develop a third national plan that covers the humanitarian component of the country’s measures to combat COVID-19. To date, Turkmenistan has reported no coronavirus cases.
The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan – which is an international transport hub – began at a fish market in late December 2019. The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.
