Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Uktam Barnoev has died from COVID-19 complications, nearly two months after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Barnoev died on September 20 in a hospital in Germany, where he had been transferred after reportedly suffering a stroke during his COVID-19 treatment in Uzbekistan.
The 56-year-old supervised the government’s agriculture and food sector since February. Prior to his appointment to the post, he had served as the governor of Bukhara Province.
Local media reported in late July that Barnoev was in a “serious condition” and was put on a ventilator after falling ill with the virus.
Other Uzbek government officials who have died from COVID-19 complications include Erkin Tursunov, a deputy finance minister, and Muso Erniyozov, the head of the parliament of the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan.
Uzbekistan recorded its first coronavirus infection on March 15. As of September 21, the Central Asian nation had reported 51,789 cases, including 435 deaths.
