MINSK, 15 June (BelTA) – Chairperson of the upper house of Belarusian Parliament Natalya Kochanova, representatives of the Healthcare Ministry, leading infectious disease scientists, heads of medical institutions exchanged views on the epidemiological situation in the country at a meeting in the Council of the Republic in Minsk on 13 June, BelTA has learned.
Natalya Kochanova invited the participants of the meeting to present their vision of the current epidemiological situation and its prospects. She said that when she meets with labor collectives, people do not ask many questions about the coronavirus, but wonder whether there will be a second wave, what Belarusians may expect in the future. “We need to exchange our views today in order to understand how we can move forward, to make some decisions," Natalya Kochanova noted. She did not rule out that the process of returning hospitals, which were re-purposed to assist patients with COVID-19, to the previous mode of operation could be continued.
Natalya Kochanova stressed that both scientists and practitioners confirm the validity of the strategy chosen in Belarus to respond to the pandemic. “The whole world has recognized that our country has taken absolutely the right path. We have not imposed any quarantine measures and today we can see that the economy is working,” the speaker said.
Healthcare Minister Vladimir Karanik stressed that the situation with COVID-19 in Belarus remains manageable. According to the minister, there are enough hospital beds. Some regions have already been discussing return to their usual mode of operation. “In any case, in order to make this process scientifically sound, we need to have a sufficiently objective forecast of morbidity to understand the situation,” said Vladimir Karanik. He stated that the disease is new, that is why there are no time-and-tested forecast models today.
“We used models based on the experience of those regions that were the first to face this epidemiological process. The assessment based on the empirical experience of Vitebsk showed that the epidemiological process in all regions is developing along the same patterns. Proceeding from this, a forecast for Minsk and other regions has been adopted,” he informed.
Paid rapid testing for COVID-19 was also discussed during the meeting. The focus was on the work of the entire healthcare system, from clinics to health resorts.
