Disaster Risk Reduction in Afghanistan: Status Report 2020 Format Afghanistan’s Response to COVID-19 and Disaster Risk Reduction Afghanistan reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case on February 24, 2020 in Herat province. As the infection spread in March, the government progressively tightened containment measures, by introducing screening at ports of entry, quarantine for infected people, and closure of public places to prevent gathering of crowds. On March 28, it imposed a countrywide lockdown, which was subsequently extended twice. As infection numbers soared throughout March in Herat, the country had difficulty tracking, testing, and isolating new cases. Despite the lockdown in major population centers, the number of cases has continued to surge upwards. The official tally of COVID-19 cases was 36,719 and deaths at 1,284 as of August 5, 2020, though this probably represents a fraction of the real situation on the ground.