Cherven Regional Executive Committee

The situation in Vitebsk Oblast is absolutely manageable, medics understand what needs to be done, BelTA learned from Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Natalya Kochanova on 31 March.

The head of the upper chamber of the Belarusian parliament visited Vitebsk Oblast the other day upon instructions of the head of state in order to find out the state of affairs in the region. Healthcare Minister Vladimir Karanik is also in Vitebsk. “The situation is absolutely manageable. Medics understand what needs to be done,” Natalya Kochanova said. “Some websites report that Vitebsk Oblast has been closed, that nobody can get in our out. It is fake news that bear no resemblance to reality.”

In Vitebsk Natalya Kochanova went to healthcare institutions and was made familiar with the work of the labs that now make coronavirus test kits. “Certainly, there were issues that needed adjustment. We've decided that labs will be opened in all the oblast capitals in order to get results from coronavirus tests faster. This is why there is nothing extraordinary, the situation is absolutely manageable and under control,” the senator stated.

A theater actor died in Vitebsk the day before. He had been diagnosed with the coronavirus, this is why the head of state pays close attention to the state of affairs in the region. As he met with Natalya Kochanova, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “I am not saying it is some catastrophe. Vitebsk Oblast has a different climate and the morbidity peak has shifted a bit. Yes, some errors were made. I would like to hear about them. The healthcare minister is working there today. I've sent him and specialists there. I want them to pay attention, analyze things and make conclusions.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked the elderly man had also had other co-existing diseases. “The wife is healthy, she was living together with the husband, the daughter is healthy. Because they have a strong immune system. But he, poor guy, didn't make it. He was hospitalized with a bad case of pneumonia, his lungs were artificially ventilated, medics worked hard to save him,” he added.

Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed it is necessary to take good care of the elderly in the current situation. “Not because they are old but because their immune systems are weak. And then they have a bunch of illnesses,” he said.

A dedicated section for Belarusians who need help with returning home has been launched on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, BelTA has learned.

Travel restrictions aimed to curb the coronavirus spread are in place in many countries around the world. Thus, many people cannot return home, including Belarusians.

In order to encapsulate information about those who need help and to get specific data that will be needed for arranging repatriation missions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs set up a special form on its website. The page is available through the link http://mfa.gov.by/ministry/conv/gohome/.

Belarusians who need help are recommended to provide information about themselves, their whereabouts, their visas and tickets. All the applications will be processed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Thirty-two coronavirus patients have recovered in Belarus as of 27 March, BelTA learned from the press service of the Healthcare Ministry.

“As of today, 32 patients have already been discharged or are about to be discharged from hospital. They tested positive for COVID-19, but after medical observation and treatment their new tests came back negative,” the press service noted.

At present 62 coronavirus patients receive treatment and remain under medical observation.

About 24,000 tests for coronavirus have been carried out in Belarus.

Bobruisk Biotechnology Plant has almost tripled the output of antiseptics since the beginning of the year, having produced around 53,000 bottles, BelTA learned from Aleksandr Kazusenok, the deputy director for ideology, personnel, and general matters at Bobruisk Biotechnology Plant.

“In the wake of the current epidemiological situation and high demand for medical products we have ramped up the output of antiseptics almost by three times, with 3,000 items produced daily. In 2019, the enterprise produced around 105,000 bottles of antiseptics. This year we have already made 53,000 bottles,” Aleksandr Kazusenok said. “The enterprise is currently working round the clock. All products are sold domestically,” he added.

Antiseptics (70% of ethanol) of Bobruisk Biotechnology Plant are supplied to Belarusian hospitals and polyclinics to clean operating theaters and medical instruments. Antiseptics go in packages of various size.

Moreover, the plant has launched the production of hand sanitizers (65% of ethanol), making 8,000 bottles up to 1 liter a day. Plans are in place to boost the production of hand sanitizers from next week and expand the range of sizes.

Hand sanitizers made by Bobruisk Biotechnology Plant are available in Belarusian retail chains. The plant also runs its own store in Bobruisk that daily sells more than 700 bottles of hand sanitizers.

The enterprise focuses on the quality of the product. Specialists at the enterprise's laboratories evaluate the quality of raw materials and end products. “Strict quality control enables us to make competitive and popular products,” Aleksandr Kazusenok stressed. The laboratories are also working round the clock now.

Bobruisk Biotechnology Plant is a multi-profile enterprise that makes products for the pharmaceutical industry, food industry, and agriculture. The plant exports its products to the CIS and EU member states. In 2019, its export topped $974,000. The plant employs 440 people.

Around 23,000 COVID-19 tests have been carried out in Belarus, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Healthcare Ministry.

As of 25 March, 29 patients have already been discharged or are getting ready to be discharged from the hospital. Their tests came back negative. “Another 57 people are under medical observation and getting treatment,” the press service said.

Two more patients are being tested further due to the ambiguity of the results of their tests.

The BRSM Youth Union has embarked on establishing a team of volunteers Kind Heart to help the elderly, Secretary of the BRSM Central Committee, coordinator of the youth movement Aleksandra Goncharova told a BelTA reporter. 

The Kind Heart team will include the most experienced BRSM members over 18 years of age. “In order to help the elderly, we have consolidated efforts with local social services centers and the Belarusian Red Cross Society that has a wealth of experience in these matters. Together we will be able to make our work more efficient,” Aleksandra Goncharova said. She noted that volunteers will first of all deliver groceries and medicines to the elderly.

BRSM and local social services centers will receive requests for delivering staple foods through dedicated hotlines. The food will be delivered by social workers and the Red Cross and BRSM volunteers. They will be provided with personal protective gear and name tags and will be properly instructed on how to protect themselves from the infection.

On March 28, a direct telephone line will be held in Minsk Oblast Executive Committee.

It will be led by the chairman of Minsk Oblast Executive Committee Alexander Turchin from 9.00 to 12.00, phone 8 (017) 500-41-60.

A direct line is drawn weekly, every Saturday. Its goal is to increase the efficiency of work with appeals of citizens and legal entities, to eradicate the facts of bureaucracy and to quickly solve the problematic issues that arise among the population.

The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises Belarusians against all non-essential travel abroad due to the global impact of COVID-19 and warns about difficulties travelers might face when returning home, Anatoly Glaz, Head of the Information and Digital Diplomacy Office, Press Secretary of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the media as he commented on the situation with the return of Belarusian travelers home after a number of countries had imposed travel restrictions in an effort to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, BelTA has learned.

“According to the State Border Committee of Belarus, some 11,000 citizens of our country have gone abroad in the last three days alone. We emphasize that these trips are made after clear recommendations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to refrain from overseas travel,” said the official representative of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Once again, we strongly advise our people against all but essential trips abroad during this difficult period. Citizens who take such steps should be aware that they are doing it at their own risk,” said Anatoly Glaz.

As of 19 March, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Belarusian foreign missions provided assistance in reaching home to more than 2,500 Belarusian citizens stranded abroad.

Belarusian diplomatic missions are currently focused on more than 1,500 Belarusian nationals abroad, who can potentially apply for the necessary assistance in the near future.

According to the ministry, in line with the head of state's instructions, close cooperation is maintained through the embassies of Belarus and Russia in Poland in order to address all issues related to the crossing of the Belarusian-Polish border by Russian citizens on their way home. The relevant interaction has also been built through other interested services.

The ministry and Belarusian diplomatic missions are also working to help Belarusian travelers to return home from Southeast Asian countries. According to initial estimates, more than 100 people are in the focus of our diplomatic missions.

The return of Belarusian citizens from Goa and Sri Lanka remains a complicated issue. The Belarusian embassy in India is in constant contact with Belarusian tourists. Consultations are held to keep the possibility for them to return home on previously booked flights.

Belarus remains in close contact with interested Russian agencies to find optimal ways to provide the transit of Belarusian citizens through the airport in Vnukovo. The parties have already outlined possible joint solutions to the situation. The Belarusian side expects a faster response from Russian partners to its requests.

The official representative of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that a visa-free entry for Belarusian citizens to Vietnam might be temporarily suspended from 21 March.

From March 19 to April 12, mobile speed sensors will be installed at:

highway M-4 Minsk-Mogilev (measurement direction to Mogilev), 28 km 630 m, speed limit for all types of vehicles - 90 km/h;

highway R-43 border of the Russian Federation-Krichev-Bobruisk-Ivatsevichi, (village Tucha, Kletsk region) 418 km 900 m, speed limit for all types of vehicles - 60 km/h;

highway R-23 Minsk-Mikashevichi, 58 km 600 m, speed limit for cars - 100 km/h, freight - 70 km/h, buses and motorcycles - 90 km/h.

As noted in the Road Police of Minsk Oblast Executive Committee, the goal of installing mobile speed sensors is to prevent drivers from breaking the set speed in places where traffic accidents are concentrated.

And already after monitoring the operation of the above technical equipment, an assessment of the effectiveness of the measures taken will be given and a decision will be made on the need for further prevention.

Every day from 150 to 230 people are tested for coronavirus at Minsk National Airport, head of the epidemiology department of Minsk City Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology Yekaterina Khomchenko told reporters on 17 March, BelTA has learned.

“Public health professionals and laboratory workers are deployed at quarantine stations of the airport. There are two stations – one for passengers arriving from the Commonwealth of Independent States and the other for citizens of non-CIS states. Another two mobile stations to collect biological materials can be set up at rush hours. Every day we examine from 150 to 230 people depending on the passenger flow,” Yekaterina Khomchenko said.

Control measures have been enhanced at the airport. Passengers undergo double thermal imaging control: at first people are screened on board a plane, after that the procedure is repeated in the airport building. Non-contact thermometers are used for more accurate measuring of temperature in people who showed increased temperature during thermal imaging.

People arriving from Italy, Iran, China and South Korea should fill in questionnaires. They should specify where exactly they have been and provide their contact details. They should also take tests. The information is forwarded to the quarantine stations. The quarantine stations process this information and notify medical professionals in the locations passengers are heading to about the need for medical observation of a particular person. Yekaterina Khomchenko noted that passengers take tests during customs control before they receive their luggage.

If people coming to Belarus from these four countries have not had an opportunity to take tests at the airport but feel healthy, they will be able to take tests later in Minsk Infectious Diseases Hospital or Children's Infectious Diseases Hospital. If a person falls sick, he/she needs to inform a local polyclinic and call an ambulance.

In order to minimize the possibility of importing the virus, the airport undertakes regular disinfection events, with a focus on most crowded areas of the airport.