On 25 February, 2020 President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov held a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister overseeing healthcare Purli Agamyradov and the Minister of Healthcare Nurmukhammedov Amannepesov.
The officials briefed the President on the measures which are being undertaken to prevent coronavirus in Turkmenistan.
Agamyradov reported that Turkmenistan had introduced tightened control and quarantine for foreign nationals entering the country, and the exit of Turkmen nationals to countries where “outbreak” of the virus was recorded has been restricted.
The list of countries where residents are prevented from travelling to was not specified.The residents who arrived from the countries where the coronavirus cases were recorded are “closely monitored by healthcare practitioners”.
It was not mentioned how many passengers are being monitored or whether they have been placed under quarantine.
Imported groceries are also under tightened control.
Minister Amannepesov said that as of today no cases of the novel virus have been recorded in Turkmenistan.
Berdymukhammedov, in his turn, ordered exercising control over the visits of Turkmen nationals who are travelling overseas for tourist, cultural, sport and other purposes and performing medical checks on foreign nationals entering the country.
It should be highlighted that the official Turkmen media outlets first reported on the outbreak of the novel virus COVID-19 two months after it started actively spreading.
The President hosted the first meeting in late January but at that time it was presented as a meeting devoted to working out a strategy on the prevention of viral diseases.
“Chronicles of Turkmenistan” has reported that the Turkmen authorities closed the border with Iran after the novel virus started actively spreading there. Quarantine zones are being set up in the velayats bordering Iran to accommodate those infected with the disease.