As restrictions are being eased worldwide, the pandemic is slowly reaching its peak in Afghanistan, where the true number of cases is reportedly much higher than official figures. Fear and misinformation run rampant.
In Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, hundreds of people crowd in front of a private clinic and try to push their way toward the entrance. Many of them are infected with COVID-19 and are wearing masks. They are looking for a coronavirus miracle cure produced by a self-proclaimed "healer."
The healer's homebrewed concoction is supposed to cure anyone infected within three hours, something that is medically impossible according to SARS-CoV-2 research being conducted so far.
One man traveled to Kabul from Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan to visit the healer's clinic. "The government can't help us, this is the only way," he said, adding that he thinks the entire city of Jalalabad is infected with COVID-19.
The Afghan government is distancing itself from claims that there is a coronavirus vaccine or cure in Afghanistan. On May 31, the Afghan Ministry of Health warned against taking homemade medicine for coronavirus.
"A vaccine cannot be made by someone at home, rather it is a long and difficult process. Even if a substance can actually be used as a vaccine, it still needs to be tested scientifically to assess possible side effects," the ministry's spokesman Waheed Majrooh, told a press conference.
According to the Health Ministry, as of Wednesday, Afghanistan has more than 17,000 COVID-19 infections, and that number rose by 758 in the 24-hour period from Tuesday. However, many experts estimate that the number of unreported cases is much higher, as many people cannot afford to test.