On October 8, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received Hans Kluge , Director of the Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization (WHO) , the TDH state news agency reported .
The head of state recalled that from the first days of spreading information about the emergence of a new infectious disease, the Government of Turkmenistan immediately responded to the impending danger and began to take effective preventive measures.
With the participation of the WHO Country Office in Turkmenistan, a Plan for Preparedness and Rapid Response to the Coronavirus Case was developed and approved, and an Emergency Commission to Combat the Spread of Disease was created.
The head of state spoke about the work of a two-stage medical control for citizens. At the first, citizens arriving from abroad take a PCR test, after which they remain in quarantine zones in the cities of Garabogaz, Turkmenbashi and Turkmenabat. At the second stage, citizens discharged from hospitals are in their homes for 14 days under the supervision of a family doctor.
“To keep people with symptoms similar to coronavirus infection , the construction of new quarantine centers has been started, the profile of some healthcare institutions has been changed. The necessary medicines are being purchased and the general vaccination of the population with various vaccines, including the Russian Sputnik V, is being carried out, ”the president added. It was stated at the meeting that "to date, more than 70% of the population of Turkmenistan has already been vaccinated . "
For some reason, the doctors of Turkmenistan cannot reliably establish whether people with suspicious symptoms have COVID-19, Berdymukhamedov and Kluge did not specify.
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov also reminded once again that COVID-19 did not reach the country. According to TDH, the head of EuroWOZ expressed gratitude to the President "for his great contribution to the common efforts to combat the spread of coronavirus."
During the meeting, there was a vase with dried harmala branches on the table, which is used in Turkmenistan to disinfect premises and fight coronavirus.
On his Twitter account, Hans Kluge said that he had a "fruitful meeting with the President of Turkmenistan" where they discussed:
• Leadership in the fight against noncommunicable diseases
• Pandemic preparedness and response in accordance with the International Health Regulations
• Regional health initiatives
• Humanitarian aid to Afghanistan
• Compliance by the WHO mission of its commitment to the International Health Regulations and other aspects.
https://twitter.com/hans_kluge/status/1446514412614033417?s=20
On October 7, the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan hosted a meeting between Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov and Hans Kluge.
The Turkmen side familiarized Kluge "with the main initiatives and proposals put forward by the President of Turkmenistan at various international platforms in the field of healthcare," the country's Foreign Ministry said .
It is noted that "the main condition for success in the fight against a common threat is the unification of all member states and UN institutions, excluding politicization."
Also on Twitter, Hans Klugge said that at a meeting with the minister, they discussed:
• Compliance by all countries with the International Health Regulations
• Joint Initiatives on Global Health Diplomacy
• Humanitarian aid to Afghanistan
It is not known whether the question of a repeat visit of the WHO Mission to Turkmenistan to take independent tests for coronavirus was raised .
The European official arrived in Turkmenistan to participate in the conference of medical scientists "Medical diplomacy is the basis of a healthy world."
8 of an appeal to the conference participants addressed President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. It noted that "The development of a special WHO program for the study of the genome of coronavirus will unite the efforts of scientists from around the world and find out the reasons for the emergence of new strains of coronavirus." In this regard, it was proposed to create a regional method for the control of pneumonia by the WHO European Office.
On September 21, Turkmen human rights organizations sent an open letter to the Director of the WHO European Office, Hans Kluge, and called on to comment on the epidemiological situation in Turkmenistan, as well as to get the authorities of Turkmenistan to transfer biological materials from patients with COVID-19 symptoms to WHO for independent research.
The appeal remained unanswered.
Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan