Kabul crawls back to life as lockdown eases and coronavirus cases rise

After a quiet Eid holiday and a three-day ceasefire, the Afghan capital’s markets once again filled with people

In West Kabul, shops opened the day after Eid Al Fitr; some with hesitation, others confidently. Stefanie Glinski for The National

As coronavirus infections rise throughout Afghanistan, the government has approved a plan to gradually ease lockdown restrictions in the capital Kabul, with businesses and offices opening for certain hours and their numbers of staff rotating.

After a quiet Eid Al Fitr holiday and a three-day ceasefire that both the Taliban and the Afghan government adhered to, Kabul’s markets once filled with people as vendors opened their shops; the streets full of cars and overcrowded taxis.

Few people wear masks, barely anyone is adhering to distancing guidelines. Drug addicts occupy crowded spaces, sitting closely together, sharing pipes and cigarettes.

“We’ve been on lockdown since late March, although the majority of people didn’t follow the restrictions,” said Noor Adi, a 40-year-old shop owner.

“You look around the city, and the virus seems to not have killed many. That’s why I’m not afraid anymore. I’m more afraid of not being able to provide for my family, or not being able to bring home food. If you ask me, there is no coronavirus here.”

“We’ve been on lockdown since late March, although the majority of people didn’t follow the restrictions,” said Noor Adi, a 40-year-old shop owner (right). Stefanie Glinski for The National

But Afghanistan's official disease toll sits at just above 16,000 infections, including 270 deaths, yet so far, only about 35,000 people have been tested in the 35 million strong nation. A recent sample of 500 random residents throughout the city saw nearly one third test positive - many of them asymptomatic - but Kabul's mayor Daoud Sultanzoy told The National that there is a good possibility that half of the city's six million people could be infected.

“You can’t force people here to be locked in. Many need to go to the shop every day because they have neither savings nor refrigeration in their houses. There aren’t enough service providers and that’s part of the reason why many have resisted authorities,” he explained.

It didn’t take long for residents - with many families living in crammed neighbourhoods where social distancing is almost impossible - to defy the lockdown and return to their routines. Afghanistan has, at the start of the pandemic, largely adopted guidelines rolled out in places like Europe or the United States.

But the International Rescue Committee, in a report, said that “one size does not fit all.”

In places like Afghanistan, “governments are unable to provide sufficient relief packages or social safety nets. Sweeping mitigation measures like those undertaken in Italy or the United States will not just be difficult to implement but could cause longer term and more widespread harm than the disease itself,” it explained.

A man sells balloons in Kabul's Shar-e-Naw neighbourhood. Stefanie Glinski for The National

But while low numbers of both deaths and tested infections have puzzled the nation, figures seem to be picking up steadily.

“All ICUs in public hospitals are full,” said the country’s Deputy Minister of Health Wahid Majroh, adding that the ministry is running out of medical facilities and equipment, including masks and ventilators.

But while public life seems to be drifting back to normal, a handful of residents stick to their personal precautions.

“I’m not going to risk the coronavirus,” said Massoud Niaz, a 33-year-old father of two. “My children are complaining. They are bored inside our apartment, but I keep telling them that quarantining will keep our family safe.”

Mayor Sultanzoy said that, with families having visited relatives over the Eid Al Fitr holidays, infections could rise significantly over the coming weeks.

“But here in Afghanistan, the war has also played an indirect role during this pandemic,” he explained, noting that for many, the virus might seem a smaller issue in comparison to the overall situation.

Numbers of coronavirus deaths have been relatively minimal compared to war casualties. According to the United Nations, 533 civilians were killed in the first three months of 2002 alone.

“Afghans are defying the lockdown,” Mr Sultanzoy said. “Maybe because they have already seen so much fighting and bloodshed.”