MINSK, 28 February (BelTA) - Belarusian health workers have showed readiness to provide a timely response to the coronavirus, representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) to Belarus Batyr Berdyklychev told the media on 28 February, BelTA has learned.
According to Batyr Berdyklychev, the first case of coronavirus did not take Belarus by surprise. “No country is insured against the spread of the novel virus. The question is whether it is ready to identify it in time and take all necessary measures. What we can see is exactly the readiness of the Belarusian health services,” he said.
“The news was immediately made public and the patient has been quarantined. This is an indicator of readiness. This is exactly what we recommend the countries to do,” Batyr Berdyklychev said.
WHO keeps in force the recommendation not to close the borders. Such measures are not effective and do not guarantee that the virus will not spread, he said.
Belarus' Healthcare Minister Vladimir Karanik, in turn, stressed that the situation in Belarus is under control. “The fact that we carry out laboratory typing and testing of all people who come from the epidemiologically unsafe countries is also an element of protection,” he said.
Vladimir Karanik emphasized the openness of the Healthcare Ministry. “The population needs to be informed about the presence of even the slightest suspicion of the infection which now scares everyone,” he said. In turn, the ministry expects a mature and well-balanced position of the society.
