US Embassy Staff In Kabul Teleworking Amid COVID-19 Outbreak - State Dept.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th June, 2021) The US Embassy staff in Kabul is teleworking amid a coronavirus outbreak in the compound that has already claimed the life of one local worker, State Department spokesperson Ned price said at a briefing.

"Afghanistan as we know is experiencing an intense third wave of COVID-19 cases throughout the country, in response to an outbreak on the compound, the embassy has adjusted operations... this includes requiring all staff to telework," Price said on Thursday.

Price said he cannot confirm the number of COVID-19 cases among workers at the US Embassy in Kabul, be he said it is significant.

The American Foreign Service Association in a statement said the US embassy in Afghanistan announced that one employee has died and 114 have been infected.

The AFSA also said the embassy is now on "lockdown" and called on the White House to take action.

"AFSA urges the Biden Administration to take swift action to allow the Department of State to require all personnel, including local employees and third-country nationals, serving at our embassies and consulates abroad under Chief of Mission authority, direct-hire and contract alike, to be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 as a condition of their physical presence in the workplace," the statement said.

The Wall Street Journal, citing an internal management notice, reported that the situation was chaotic at the embassy as the illness spread rapidly, forcing health units to create temporary wards because the intensive care unit at the US military hospital that supports the embassy is at full capacity.