Kazakhstan: Death toll from coronavirus hits 15

Coronavirus pandemic was confirmed to have reached Kazakhstan on March 13, 2020 after two Kazakh citizens recently returned from Germany. That same day, two more cases were confirmed with one woman arriving from Italy in Nur-Sultan and the other from Germany in Almaty.

On March 15, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency from March 16 to April 15, 2020. Many holidays such as Novruz and the Victory Day military parade were cancelled.

On March 19, a quarantine was placed on the cities of Nur-Sultan and Almaty, where the highest cases were occurring. On March 30, Atyrau and 5 towns in Karaganda Region were under lockdown. To date, coronavirus has claimed 15 lives in the country.

According to the State Commission on Ensuring State of Emergency, Kazakhstan confirmed 1,267 thousand cases of coronavirus infection. Kazakhstan's President Kassym Jomart Tokayev extended the state of emergency, which has been in effect since March 16 until the end of April. The general quarantine will also continue in Nur-Sultan, Almaty, and Shymkent.