– Andrew, what the Belarusians think about the coronavirus, and how much do they trust official statistics?
– first, the Ministry of health provides data every three days. Second, the Agency chooses such language that they need to use in messages for the media, but on math exams because they are very hard to decipher. While in Belarus registered only 2 deaths from the coronavirus, but doctors say that this has not happened due to a virus, but because of the complications to which it led. But circumstantial evidence shows that we have an outbreak of pneumonia, and this in turn tells us about the spread of the coronavirus. In addition, there are a huge number of public organizations that collect aid for hospitals. This suggests that the health system is experiencing a serious load.
– How often people become ill with pneumonia?
– With the official data until the trouble but on March 31 the physician from Vitebsk reported 756 patients in her hospital. Belarus is a unique situation, society is doing to combat the coronavirus more than power. For example, “Tell the truth!” gathered 17 thousand signatures under the petition about introduction in the Republic of “functional quarantine”. We hope that our measures will help to slow the spread of the virus, but will not harm the economy. In addition, there are a large number of volunteers who help the elderly to buy food and medicine, people are collecting for the hospitals money on masks and Shoe covers, are organized for information collection and dissemination, and so on.
– There is a panic because of the coronavirus?
– there is no Panic, but people were a lot less restaurants, movie theaters, use of public transport and so on. According to official data, passenger traffic in the Minsk metro fell by 25%. The authorities took no decisions about plant closures, the transfer of people for freelance work. Belarusians themselves to decide how to confront the coronavirus. Someone took the children of the WCola, someone had cut spending on entertainment. There is alertness, and that the authorities took the doctors a subscription about nondisclosure of information only adds to the distrust of official data.
– What does “functional quarantine”, and why Lukashenka refuses to introduce restrictive measures?
– Everyone who can should go for freelance work. In particular, this concerns civil servants. You can close businesses that have inventory in the next few months. Send people home need to pay. However, we need to grant Amnesty to all those who are serving sentences for economic crimes, for drug trafficking and other petty crimes. In addition, we call for the establishment of a Fund to support people in the background of the imminent economic crisis and the repeal of the parasites. Today in Belarus has returned many labor migrants who worked in Russia and the European Union. At home they were without work, and according to the law of the parasites they have to pay more taxes than others. That is, the state does not help them, and robbing on the double.
But why Lukashenko refuses to quarantine?
– He believes that it is better to die standing than live on my knees. Apparently, he decided to accept this challenge to demonstrate all the confidence. In addition, it can be very difficult to admit his mistake. After all, power for a very long time insisted that the panic caused artificially. But we cannot say that the system is completely idle. For example, a lot is done for the detection and isolation of patients and all those with them in contact. In particular, 32 were made thousands of tests for coronavirus. But this is not enough. Not to mention the fact that on economic support to people while almost nothing is said.
– are There any political or economic reasons for refusing quarantine in Belarus?
Lukashenka said that the Republic unlike RoSMAI there is no national welfare Fund or other reserves. In addition, at such low prices at the Belarusian oil refineries lose almost all meaning, as the transit of oil. Perhaps the government is afraid that a stone will fall, and the whole system will collapse, so they pretend that nothing bad happened.
are There any estimates of how much patients can withstand the Belarusian health care system?
– While for patients with coronavirus has allocated about 3.5 thousand beds. Thus we are assured that there are a large number of the ventilator. Although some hospitals already are looking for someone who can buy them these devices. Hospital of Minsk and regional centers staffed relatively well, but in the regional centers, the situation is often deplorable. The virus already went for a walk in small towns. There is a risk that the system will not sustain a mass influx of patients with pneumonia.
How Belarusians reacted to the closure of the border with Russia?
confused. The fact that on the eve of the heads of governments of the two countries held talks, the results of which was declared on progress in the field of energy and so on. The possibility of closing the border is not even mentioned, and the statement was not in Moscow said that the decision of the joint. This, of course, is contrary to the principles of the Union state. Perhaps for the first time in a long time the decision in the Union state affected people, and, unfortunately, it turned out to be negative.
Have an idea about how Belarus and Russia will operate after Moscow announced the victory over coronavirus?
– a Small virus brought into question all the integration processes in the world. It is particularly acute for the Federal government and the Eurasian economic Union, because to the virus were not feeling very well. Today we are obviously lacking joint plans for combating coronavirus and out of the global economic crisis. The EEU, the Union state and other similar educationI tested in time of crisis: they serve the people or not. If they don’t lend a helping hand, why they are needed? As for open borders, here much depends on Russia’s position. But in the long term much more important are the economic issues. In a crisis it may well be that in conditions of growth of unemployment in Moscow will abandon the foreign labor force in the use of the citizens. Just start to close the market for foreign products. Of course, Minsk is interested in maximum transparency, but while Russia is demonstrating a policy of isolationism.
There are in Belarus and other opinion them with “MK” said Belarusian political analyst Alexander Shpakovsky:
– In Belarus, according to Ministry of health, treatment are a little more than 150 people, more than 60 patients with a positive diagnosis for the coronavirus has already recovered and been discharged from hospitals. It confirmed the death of two elderly patients from whom the coronavirus impeded in reality by additional severe diseases. In this country actively testing residents, environmental risk. Conducted more than 30 thousand tests in terms of 100 people is one of the best indicators in Europe. The Belarusian Ministry of health works closely with who, the mission of this organization commends the actions of the Belarusian authorities to combat the spread of coronavirus. In addition, yesterday the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko instructed the representatives of his administration to invite the Republic a special who mission to work together and assess the situation. Belarus has retained sanitary and epidemic service and centrally controlled health system, which allows you to quickly identify and isolate patients and their contacts of the first and second level. This allows to avoid the use of emergency measures, forced isolation of the entire population, the introduction of army units in the city, and the paralysis of economic life and violations of basic human rights, which have accessCach other governments.
as for the request of assistance, Belarus has sent a similar petition to all my partners who have significant resources and weight in the international arena. We are talking about the EU, China, USA and Russia. As negotiations on the allocation of the term loan through the IMF. In almost all areas achieved positive preliminary results. Such an approach on the part of Minsk is logical, because the Belarusian government also shows solidarity and sends assistance to the partner countries. In particular, Belarus was the first country sending humanitarian aid to the affected areas of China, the Belarusian airline has delivered humanitarian cargo from China to Serbia and so on. In this regard, frankly malevolent publication of some Russian publications with the title “Belarus asks for help from Russia” look blasphemous and inadequately, do not correspond to the allied relations between Moscow and Minsk.
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