Almost all operations shut down as COVID-19 outbreak hits U.S. Embassy in Kabul
COVID-19 has spread through the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, with one person dying from the virus and 114 others infected.
Nearly all operations have shut down at the embassy, where staffers are working to coordinate the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan. On Thursday, a note approved by Chargé d'Affaires Ross Wilson stated that COVID-19 is "surging in the mission," and several staffers have been medically evacuated. Intensive care units at military hospitals are at full capacity, the note said, "forcing our health units to create temporary, on-compound COVID-19 wards to care for oxygen-dependent patients."
The infected staffers are in isolation, and if any are caught breaking the embassy's COVID-19 policies, they will face "consequences up to and including removal from post on the next available flight," the note said. Vaccines have been made available to all employees, and the note stated that 95 percent of the COVID-19 cases are among staffers who have not been vaccinated or are only partially vaccinated. More than 90 percent of the Afghan and non-American staff have been vaccinated.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The American Foreign Services Association, the trade union for diplomats, wants to make vaccination mandatory at U.S. missions, The Guardian reports. "This has always been a matter of life and death, but now it literally has become exactly that for our members and colleagues serving their country abroad," the union said in a statement.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Government shutdown looming? Blame the border
Talking Points Democrats and Republicans say funding for immigration enforcement is the budget battle's latest sticking point. That's about all they agree on.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Conservatives have not limited their attack on reproductive rights to the US'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Excess screen time is making children only see what is in front of them
Under the radar The future is looking blurry. And very nearsighted.
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Covid-19: what to know about UK's new Juno and Pirola variants
in depth Rapidly spreading new JN.1 strain is 'yet another reminder that the pandemic is far from over'
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Long-term respiratory illness is here to stay
The Explainer Covid is not the only disease with a long version
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Seattle Children's Hospital sues Texas over 'sham' demand for transgender medical records
Speed Read Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton subpoenaed records of any Texan who received gender-affirming care at the Washington hospital
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Afghanistan has a growing female suicide problem
Speed Read The Taliban has steadily whittled away women's and girls' rights in Afghanistan over the past 2 years, prompting a surge in depression and suicide
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US life expectancy rose in 2022 but not to pre-pandemic levels
Speed Read Life expectancy is slowly crawling back up
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Covid inquiry: the most important questions for Boris Johnson
Talking Point Former PM has faced weeks of heavy criticism from former colleagues at the public hearing
By The Week Staff Published
-
China's pneumonia cases: should we be worried?
The Explainer Experts warn against pushing 'pandemic panic button' following outbreak of respiratory illness
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published