MINSK, 21 May (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Belarus Healthcare Minister Vladimir Karanik and President's Aide Aleksandr Kosinets to discuss the epidemiological situation in the country on 21 May, BelTA has learned.
According to the head of state, there is no time to relax, but the data confirms that the situation has been improving steadily. “I am regularly updated. I am monitoring the situation. In no way we should let ourselves relax yet. We need to walk this road to the end and show everyone, especially within the country. We need to fight for people's lives. We need to stand our ground and save people, because in the end only one figure will remain – the death toll,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
“However, we should by no means relax yet. We need to steer the work to help our doctors. They are doing a great job, and the Healthcare Ministry is organizing this work well. The most important thing is that you are learning from everyday experience. You need to hold out. We need to deal with this fully, and, I think, work hard for another month. Of course, the pressures have lessened. It has become easier, but there is no relaxing yet,” the Belarusian president stressed.
The head of state pointed out that Vitebsk and Minsk, which confronted the virus first, have reported decreasing numbers of new cases. “You have been to Vitebsk. The situation has plateaued, and we see a decline. Minsk and Vitebsk were the first to grapple with the problem, especially Vitebsk, and now they are emerging from this. You can see that more beds are vacated. We no longer need cancer and gynecology divisions and other facilities that we have re-purposed. We should return them to normal operation, get them disinfected and cleaned,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The president noted that in Minsk, for example, Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly Natalya Kochanova is overseeing this process on his behalf. The head of state received reports that the situation in the capital has stabilized. “The number of cases in Minsk is not increasing. I am glad to hear that. It is even shrinking. This is good. Here we should also get the hospitals, that we have re-purposed to have spare beds just in case, back to normal operation. We need to understand, that cancer surgeries have been scheduled and postponed. These may not be difficult surgeries, but they have been postponed. The same concerns other hospitals that specialize in other diseases,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
He added that the country chose the right strategy that focuses on treating pneumonia, regardless whether it is caused by the coronavirus or something else. “It was the right decision. Now we can see that the number of pneumonia cases, thank God, is on the decline,” he said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko also pointed out that the epidemiological situation in the world in general also influences the economic development and production chains and raises social issues. This is why all relevant decisions should be made at the government level. “I need to put all this together, balance and sort it out, and run the country and the society. So if you have any recommendations for me, you have my attention,” he added.
