Tajikistan coronavirus

Tajikistan’s leaders declared the country COVID-free back in January, but the recent death of the president’s sister, reportedly from COVID-19, exposes the reality: The pandemic isn’t over.

The Tajik president commented that “Tajikistan today is without COVID-19" -- close regional observers (and common sense) disagree.

2020 was not the first time Tajikistan experienced the sharp costs of being a remittance-dependent country, but the lesson is important to heed.

A pair of November 1 charter flights from Moscow to Dushanbe were cancelled.

Given the devastation of the pandemic, the bank’s increased grants plans for Tajikistan are critical. But will it be enough?

Buzurgmehr Yorov bravely took on the defense of the IRPT leadership and, like his clients, lost his freedom.

The roster of apparently lucky (or lying) few has dwindled to about a dozen.

Now that Tajikistan has admitted the presence of COVID-19 in the country, the bad news will likely only grow.

The announcement confirms what experts long suspected, but the government denied: the pandemic has arrived in Tajikistan.

Dushanbe’s denials are simply unbelievable; its belated responses to the pandemic “cruel and inept at the same time.”

Emomali Rahmon finally joins in on regional telediplomacy with recent calls with the leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.

What should we make of the countries that have not reported cases? Are they unable to test? Are they lying? Are they that isolated?