Twenty cases were initially reported, but on Sunday Western media reports said the number had risen to 40, the BBC reported.

There has been no official reaction from the Afghan government or any reports that Gahni himself has contacted the viral infection, it added.

According to the Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Centre, Afghanistan has 993 coronavirus cases and 32 deaths.

There are also fears that the virus could have spread after more than 150,000 Afghans returned from virus-stricken Iran during March, while tens of thousands of others returned from Pakistan, the BBC said