New COVID surge batters Afghanistan’s crumbling health care

By KATHY GANNON
Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — All but five of the 38 COVID-19 treatment hospitals that once operated in Afghanistan have been forced to close in recent months for lack of doctors, medicines, even heating. This comes as the economically devastated nation is experiencing a dramatic increase in the number of reported coronavirus cases. The head of the only COVID-19 treatment hospital in the capital of Kabul says Afghanistan is being hit by the new omicron variant. But he admits that it’s just a guess because the country is still waiting for kits to test for the new variant.