Tajik health authorities say no new COVID-19 case being detected in the country. 

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population (MoHSPP) claims that no new coronavirus-linked deaths and no new cured COVID-19 patients were reported in Tajikistan yesterday.

As of the evening of January 13, 2021, the official number of people infected with the coronavirus remains unchanged in Tajikistan – 13,308.

Thus, no new officially confirmed coronavirus cases were reported in Tajikistan on December 31, January 1, 3 4, 6, 7, 11, 12 and 13.    

The official number of coronavirus-linked deaths also remains the same in the country as of the evening of January 13 – 90, a MoHSPP says.

The official number of cured COVId-19 patients in Tajikistan reportedly remains the same as well – 13,215. 

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.     

The virus is reportedly affecting 218 countries and territories around the world and two international conveyances.  

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his government to launch a mass vaccination next week. 

Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said that mass vaccination will begin as of January 18. According to her, 2.1 million doses of the vaccine will go into civilian circulation by the end of January.

Russia began a “large-scale” coronavirus vaccination program, as Putin previously called it, in December -- but it is not clear exactly how many people have been vaccinated as part of this drive.

Russia approved its first COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, in August.  The news of its approval ahead of large-scale Phase 3 trials necessary to test its safety and efficacy drew considerable criticism from scientific and medical circles.