Turkmenistan's strongman leader says country has 'zero COVID-19 cases'

Despite a population of about 6 million, Turkmenistan’s leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov on November 13 insisted that his country had zero coronavirus cases. According to health and human rights journal, the reclusive country reported 0 fatalities related to SARS-CoV-2 infections. However, the autocratic government denial was subjected to speculations after footages related to the COVID deaths circulated on social media. But the Turkmenistan strongman leader insisted in the press that  “there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country.” 

Earlier in April, the WHO expert mission announced that it would visit Turkmenistan to verify the claims of no transmission but the three months of toil related to the logistics stalled the visit, according to the organization. However, post a 10-day mission in July, the WHO confirmed in a press conference that there were no confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in the  Central Asian country, despite the surge in neighbouring border nations. However, Professor Martin McKee from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, an expert on the Turkmen healthcare system, told BBC that the official health statistics from Turkmenistan was “notoriously unreliable”, adding, that the country claimed to have no people living with HIV over the past several years. 

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Opened a new 'health institution'

Based on recent reports, the strongman leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov opened a new health institution for infectious diseases and flaunted the country’s “achievement”, state newspaper Neutral Turkmenistan confirmed. Meanwhile, the Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands and Pacific nation of Vanuatu all confirmed the first cases of the novel coronavirus amid fears that the virus may have already made it to Turkmenistan as well. UN Resident Coordinator, Elena Panova, told the BBC that while as of now, there were no reports of the virus by the government, the WHO was, regardless, discussing a plan of action. She stressed on “relying on official information” and did not confirm if cases were detected with the reporters. Turkmenistan's COVID-free status is also being attributed to the autocratic leader’s suppressive policies. 

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(Image Credit: AP)