For the time being, 51 cases of the novel coronavirus have been recorded in Belarus; five persons have already recovered.
“As of 8:00 am today, only 9 patients have clinical signs of COVID-19, i.e. they are actually ill. 37 patients who were tested positive but have no clinical symptoms are under medical supervision. Five patients have been already discharged, another three have got re-tested; they are likely to leave hospital in the near future,” the Belarusian Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
17 cases were imported to Belarus from other countries, including Spain, France, Germany and Russia, the press service stresses.
According to the ministry, the situation is ‘manageable’.
Last week, the ministry said that the closure of the border was unable to prevent the entry of coronavirus, as ‘7 out of 8 cases of imported coronavirus infection were found precisely among the Belarusian citizens, returning to their homeland from abroad’. As for the possibility of shutting down kindergartens and primary schools over the virus, the ministry states that children get sick much less often and do not die of coronavirus at all.
The ‘zero’ patient in Belarus was a student of the Belarusian National Technical University from Iran who had got infected while being in his native country. In late February, when the first coronavirus case was reported, the university was closed, but only for two weeks. Over 16,000 Belarusians have signed the petition to introduce distance learning in the country. But still, imposing quarantine measures is not on the Belarusian government’s agenda at the moment.
On March 16, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka shared with the newly appointed officials his own ways of fighting infections, including the novel coronavirus. He advised going to a dry sauna, claiming that the virus dies at 60 degrees; more frequent handwashing, regular diet, and… drinking some vodka are also on his list.
