One COVID-19 patient died yesterday, bringing a total number of the noel coronavirus-linked deaths in the country to 64, according to the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population (MoHSPP).

36 new officially confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) were reported in Tajikistan yesterday, bringing a total number of officially confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country to 8,099 as of the evening of August 17, a MoHSPP said. 

6,897 COVID-19 patients have reportedly recovered as of the evening of August 17, 2020.  42 COVID-19 patients were released from hospitals yesterday after recovery. 

Besides, more than 1,000 people in Tajikistan have reportedly been treating COVID-19 at home under supervision of family doctors.   

Schools reopened in Tajikistan on August 17, earlier than normal to allow students to make up for time lost in the spring, according to the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES).

All educational institutions must organize taking temperatures of teachers and students and the mandatory wearing of masks.  The educational institutions must be disinfected every day.  Desks in educational institutions must be set in a checkerboard pattern a meter away from each other.  In the learning process, the teacher must keep a distance of up to 2 meters from the students.   Lessons on all subjects must be conducted in the same class.  Gyms, conference halls and other support spaces should be temporary used as classes.

However, in some schools, only first grade pupils have their temperature taken, and as before, school students sit in twos.    

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 April 30, 2020.

Meanwhile, CNN says that as of August 17, authorities in 214 countries and territories have reported about 21.9 million COVID19 cases and 774,000 deaths since China reported its first cases to the World Health Organization (WHO) in December.