Public festivities and entertainments to celebrate Navrouz festival most likely will be canceled in Tajikistan this year amid coronavirus fears.  

This year, the main events to celebrate the Navrouz festival, involving more than 7,000 people, were supposed to be held in Khujand, the capital of the northern Sughd province.  They are unlikely to take place, a source within the republican commission for prevention of coronavirus told Asia-Plus in an interview.

According to him, a small number of guests and artistes will be invited to participate in events to celebrate the Navrouz festival at the government level. 

Public festivities in parks and sports events will also be canceled, the source added.   

There have been no confirmed cases of the illness in Tajikistan so far.

Recall, Tajik health authorities stepped up preventative measures in early February as part of their efforts to contain a global epidemic.  

The Tajik Health Ministry has required anybody traveling from China to remain in quarantine for a period of 14 days.  There are quarantine centers in all the country’s regions.  These kinds of policies have generated approval from the public,  

Besides, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection has printed and distributed 13,000 brochures and recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) on how to reduce the coronavirus infection risk.