Turkmenistan bans use of the word 'coronavirus' ahead of World Health Organization visit


While experts around the world debate the merits of different strategies for addressing the coronavirus pandemic, Turkmenistan has its own novel solution for eliminating the virus: banning it from being mentioned. In the former Soviet republic, it has become illegal to use the word "coronavirus" in official documents or news media or to wear face masks in public, reports Radio Free Europe.
The Central Asian nation has reported zero cases of the virus, but Radio Free Europe suggests that hundreds of people previously held in quarantine zones are being moved ahead of an official visit by the World Health Organization. While health experts have questioned the reliability of infection figures from Turkmenistan, which borders hard-hit Iran, the country's foreign minister Rashid Meredov has insisted that his country so far been spared. "If there was a single confirmed coronavirus case, we would have immediately informed ... the World Health Organization in line with our obligations."
This is not the first time Turkmenistan has been criticized for its lack of transparency. The global free speech organization Reporters Without Borders has ranked Turkmenistan 178 out of 180 in its Press Freedom Index, just ahead of Eritrea and North Korea.
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.
Despite his country's reported lack of infections, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who is also a rapper and a dentist, has offered advice to public health experts on combating the virus with herbal remedies.
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
Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.
-
May 31 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include how much to pay for a pardon, medical advice from a brain worm, and a simple solution to the national debt.
-
5 costly cartoons about the national debt
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on the USA's financial hole, rare bipartisan agreement, and Donald Trump and Mike Johnson.
-
Green goddess salad recipe
The Week Recommends Avocado can be the creamy star of the show in this fresh, sharp salad
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive order
speed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads
Speed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows