On 19 March, 2020 non-residents were unexpectedly denied access to Ashgabat as a measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus.Police officers did not allow access to the capital to the inhabitants of provinces.
Three days later the city was re-opened for entry but rail passengers and those who tried to enter the capital by road got their temperatures taken.
Correspondents of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” reported how the checks are performed upon entry to Ashgabat.
People can leave the capital unhampered, without any inspections, but on the opposite side of the motorway there are constant traffic jams at the road police checkpoint upon entry to the city.
Vehicles have to wait for their turn for about 15 minutes.A person wearing a black suit or a white and green sports uniform with “Turkmenistan” logo keeps vigil at each of the three motorway lanes.
They all have a pyrometer which is used to measure the temperature of vehicle drivers only.Passengers are rapidly inspected through the window.They can be asked about their health.
No other procedures are performed.
Intercity commuter buses are inspected in the same manner. Only drivers and a random passenger have to get their temperatures taken.
There are no medical doctors or ambulances at the entry checkpoint.
It appears that these checks are performed as “a box ticking exercise”. Outraged passengers say that these measures are not efficient and are time-consuming.
Non-uniformed personnel measuring temperatures also keep vigil at the pedestrian tunnels at the exit from the railway station. No medical doctors are seen nearby.
Select disinfection measures are being used in the city. For instance, in many pharmacies the pharmacist’s window is cordoned off with a transparent film disinfected with a chlorine solution. Door handles in the shops are wrapped in gauze cloth which has also been disinfected in a chlorine solution.
Nobody is wearing any masks and no self-isolation, let alone quarantine, has been imposed. Residents continue to celebrate weddings and other festivities.