New Year celebration events in Afghanistan have been officially cancelled to contain the spread of coronavirus, a presidential adviser said on Saturday.
March 20 will be the first day of the Afghan New Year, which is locally called as Nowruz.
Waheed Omer, the president’s senioradvisorfor public and strategic affairs, announced on Twitter that Nowruz celebrations including major ones in Mazar-i-Sharif city and Kabul’s Kart-e-Sakhi area were cancelled.
He advised citizens not to attend gatherings or undertake trips for Nowroz celebrations.
Afghanistan has 10 confirmed cases of coronavirus including one in Balkh whose capital is Mazar-i-Sharif city.
Earlier on Saturday, officials announced suspension of all sports-related activities over coronavirus fears.
