Turkmenistan's autocratic president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has banned the public use of face masks and any use of the word "coronavirus". The word has also disappeared from all health information brochures distributed in schools, hospitals and workplaces. Citizens contravening this new law risk a run-in with the many plain-clothes police that patrol the country, and the uncertain attentions of its judicial system.
And it seems to be working: Turkmenistan has not reported any cases of COVID-19 at all, despite bordering Iran, which currently has about 56,000 cases (and that's if you believe Iran's publicity machine).
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