An Afghan student and local journalist who recently left Kabul tells ABC News she is in touch with friends across Afghanistan and that although the Taliban are attempting to portray order in Kabul, members are imposing fear tactics and limiting civilian behavior in other provinces.

Nasrin Nawa says her friend in the Ghazni province who works in a hospital told her she is already getting harassed by members of the Taliban.

"She told me that the Taliban hanged a curtain among men and women in the hospital. She said they warned them to not communicate, to not talk to each other. They said to her, 'Don't leave your slippers on the ground because men should not see them,'" Nawa recalled. "They warned if anyone doesn't obey the new rules, they will encounter them. My friend, she is scared."

"Kabul is different than other provinces. It's not the same in other cities," she said. "They are more cruel with people outside of Kabul, because they don't have any voice right now -- these people," she added, speaking to the Taliban seizing control of rural areas and civilian populations.

-ABC News' Desiree Adib

Asked at Tuesday's press briefing whether the White House was recognizing the Taliban as the legitimate governing power in Afghanistan, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said it was "premature" to answer that question.

"Right now, there is a chaotic situation in Kabul where we don't even have the establishment of a governing authority, so it would be really premature to address that question," Sullivan said. "Ultimately it's going to be up to the Taliban to show the rest of the world who they are and how they intend to proceed. The track record has not been good. But it's premature to address that question at this point."

Later on, asked if the U.S. believes the Taliban when it says it will allow for the safe passage of both Americans and Afghans, Sullivan confirmed the U.S. government is in talks with the Taliban as the military works to ensure those evacuations.

"We believe that this can go till the 31st. We're talking to them about what the exact timetable is for how this will all play out, and I don't want to negotiate in public," he said. "I’m working out the best modality to get the most people out in the most efficient way possible objective."

With the surge in COVID cases wreaking havoc on the U.S. embassy Kabul and essentially keeping staff in their rooms in a severe lockdown, the union for U.S. diplomats is demanding a change in policy -- requiring vaccines of most individuals serving at embassies and consulates abroad.

The American Foreign Service Association said Tuesday the Biden administration must "take swift action" to allow the State Department to require vaccines for all personnel as a condition for their physical presence in the workplace, including non-American local employees and outside U.S. contractors.

"This has always been a matter of life and death, but now it literally has become exactly that for our members and colleagues serving their country abroad," the union said in a statement.

The union suggested exemptions for those who cannot get vaccinated because of medical reasons, disabilities, or religious beliefs -- and point to a recent federal court ruling that backed a hospital's policy of requiring health care workers be vaccinated.

The group also argues that COVID could damage U.S. national security because "a stable and positive presence in Afghanistan" is essential as the U.S. military withdrawal accelerates and the security situation deteriorates across Afghanistan.

Ugandan government officials told local media outlets Tuesday that the country had agreed to host 2,000 Afghans at the U.S. government's request -- but a State Department spokesperson tells ABC News those discussions are still "ongoing."

"We deeply appreciate Uganda's generous offer of assistance to host Afghanistan evacuees on a temporary basis. We have not yet made a final determination of assistance requirements in Uganda," the spokesperson said. They said that includes securing key legal protections for these Afghans in a final agreement.

Beyond Uganda, discussions continue with several countries about hosting Afghans, mostly on a temporary basis before they can be resettled in the U.S. Some countries have also offered to host U.S. citizens being evacuated before they are flown back to the U.S.

"We have heard generous offers of support from a number of countries for assisting vulnerable Afghans. We deeply appreciate countries who have offered support with departures for Afghan and U.S. citizens," the spokesperson said.

In addition to Uganda, there have been conversations with Qatar, Kuwait, Indonesia, Albania, Kosovo, and Afghanistan's Central Asian neighbors, according to a U.S. official.