[7] Starting in March, in order to prevent the importation and spread of coronavirus infection, all aircraft arriving in Turkmenistan from abroad were redirected to the Turkmenabat International Airport.
[29] On 9 May, a military parade and festive celebrations in honor of the 75th anniversary of the victory in World War II was held in spite of the virus.
On this day, a mass bike ride was supported in foreign capitals: Brussels, Minsk, Kyiv, Tashkent, Ankara, Tbilisi, Tokyo, Beijing, Paris, Berlin, Bucharest, Abu Dhabi, Washington, D.C., and Moscow, as well as in the cities of Dubai (UAE), Turkestan (Kazakhstan), Istanbul (Turkey).
[36][verification needed] On 27 June, Human Rights Watch said that Turkmenistan authorities were putting public health in danger by denying an apparent COVID-19 outbreak.
[42] In April 2020, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow advised burning the medicinal herb harmala to fight diseases, though it had not been scientifically investigated as a treatment for coronavirus and he did not explicitly mention COVID-19.
[43][44] President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow said on 10 April that the "sanitary and epidemiological situation in Turkmenistan is stable and under control", while speaking at an extraordinary summit of the Turkic Council.
[50] On 22 April, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Raşit Meredow said that there were no confirmed cases of infection with the coronavirus COVID-19 in the country.
[51] Rashid Meredov suggested that his foreign colleagues visit the quarantine center in Lebap Region and make sure there is no pandemic.
[61][62] On 5 October, a grassroots organization of Turkmen locals and activists began providing data on individuals in Turkmenistan who died of COVID-19 related complications.
[65] There was international concern about economic problems in Turkmenistan caused by the pandemic, given the importance of trade with China to the country's economy.
[39] On 18 January 2021, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said Turkmenistan had registered Russia's Sputnik-V vaccine through emergency-use authorization.
[66] According to the "Preparedness Plan of Turkmenistan for Counteracting the Coronavirus Pandemic and Taking Rapid Response Measures", mosques,[67] bazaars,[68] shopping malls,[69] and some restaurants were temporarily closed.
[71][72] In order to combat the unfavorable influence of dust particles found in large quantities in the air, as well as to prevent infectious diseases, complex disinfection is carried out in Turkmenistan according to WHO recommendations.
At the beginning of 2022, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow instructed strengthening of measures to prevent the entry of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant into Turkmenistan.
In order to prevent the possible penetration of infectious diseases into the country, disinfection measures are systematically carried out at border checkpoints.
The website recommended that in order to reduce the natural and exogenous effects due to a possible change in the air composition and increase in the content of pathogenic substances in it, employees of the healthcare system, retail outlets, public transport and other service workers should use personal protective equipment for the upper respiratory tract (surgical masks).
[82][83][84] It was noted that Turkmenistan's efforts to counter COVID-19, including the proposal to establish an international Council of Medical Scientists and join the country in the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), were significant.