Afghanistan running out of oxygen as COVID surge worsens

KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghanistan's is racing to ramp up supplies of oxygen as a deadly third surge of COVID-19 worsens, a senior health official told The Associated Press in an interview Saturday.

The government is installing oxygen supply plants in 10 provinces where the increase in COVID cases in some areas is hovering around 65%, health ministry spokesman Ghulam Dasigi Nazary said. By WHO recommendations, anything higher than 5% shows officials aren’t testing widely enough, allowing the virus to spread unchecked. Afghanistan carries out barely 4,000 tests a day and often much less.