Tajik authorities have lifted almost all coronavirus restrictions, including mandatory mask wearing in public places and a temporary ban of traditional ceremonies and celebrations, including weddings.
Tajikistan’s Standing Committee on COVID-19 Response said on March 7 that the decision to lift the restrictions was made "while taking into consideration the normalization of the epidemiological situation in Tajikistan."
The restrictions were imposed in July 2020. Wedding parties were limited to up to 40 close family members and had to be held inside private homes.
As of March 7, the number of participants in wedding parties and other traditional celebrations was raised to up to 200 people.
For the last time, three officially confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) were reported in Tajikistan on February 18, 2022.
The Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population (MoHSPP) said on February 25 that that a total number of the officially confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in Tajikistan has amounted to 17,388 since April 30, 2020, when its index cases were confirmed in the country.
A total number of those who have been cured in Tajikistan since April 30, 2020 has reportedly amounted to 17,252 (99.2 percent).
The number of the officially confirmed coronavirus-linked deaths in Tajikistan has remained the same – 124.
However, an investigative report by Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service in 2020 revealed that the real number of COVID-19 deaths might be several times higher, including dozens of physicians and nurses who treated COVID-19 patients and later died.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Tajikistan is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Tajikistan when its index cases, in Dushanbe and Khujand, were confirmed on 30 April 2020.
By January 13, 2021, government reported that all cases had either recovered or died, leaving the country free of COVID-19 for the first time since April 2020. Tajikistan reported to be the first country in Central Asia to eradicate COVID-19, and would be the only country with over 10,000 total cases to have zero active cases. After five months and twelve days, Tajikistan recorded 63 news COVID-19 cases.
A MoHSPP says more than 4 million people in Tajikistan have been vaccinated against COVID-19 so far.
