Turkmenistan is recorded as having no cases of Covid
It’s a country that’s home to nearly 6 million people, so how is it possible that it has a count of Covid cases and deaths currently recorded as “0”?
In an almost two-year global pandemic, it seems nearly impossible for a country to have escaped the clutches of the coronavirus.
However, Turkmenistan, a notoriously secret country, claims to have avoided the epidemic, according to official figures.
The former Soviet republic is actually one of five countries that have yet to report any cases of Covid-19, including North Korea and three remote Pacific islands. This is according to a review of data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and John Hopkins University.
The country’s count of covid cases and deaths on the WHO website currently registers “0”. Interestingly, he recorded 41,993 doses of vaccine as having been administered.
And quite astonishing is the fact that it borders Iran, which has one of the largest Covid-19 outbreaks in the world with nearly 5.5 million total cases and 119,000 deaths.
Some claim zero cases figure is a lie, with Ruslan Myatiev, an exile from Turkmenistan and editor of the independent Netherlands-based news agency Turkmen news, claiming that he knows the names of more than 60 people who have died from Covid-19 in the country.
He claims to have verified the names with medical records and x-rays.
“Instead of accepting it and cooperating with the international community, Turkmenistan has decided to put its head in the sand,” Myatiev said. CNN.
There are also unverified claims that a third wave has hit the country, crushing hospitals.
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov called reports of the coronavirus in the country “false”.
He also told the United Nations on Tuesday that the pandemic should not be “politicized”.
However, Rachel Denber, deputy director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch, said: “You look at what’s going on in other countries in the region and how different Turkmenistan could be. ? “
The second largest state in Central Asia, Turkmentistan has a population of 5.9 million and a repressive government. It is well known to be difficult to visit and is far from speed cameras as a travel destination.
Bordered by Kazakstan to the northeast, the capital of Turkmenistan is Ashgabat (Ashkhabad), which lies near the southern border with Iran. The other borders include Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
In the middle of its vast expanses of uninhabitable desert hide some oases.
It has, however, made headlines around the world for its unique and bizarre sights such as the geological anomaly of Hell’s Gate, a giant burning pit in the Karakum Desert that has been spitting angry flames for more. 40 years old. It was discovered by a group of Russian geologists in 1971, when the ground beneath their drilling equipment collapsed, creating the abyss.