Volozhin Region
Executive Committee

Chairman of the Board of the Development Bank of Belarus Andrei Zhishkevich visited the sponsored orphanage No. 7 in Minsk as part the New Year's charity campaign Our Children, BelTA learned from the bank's press service.

“On New Year's Eve, the head of the bank congratulated the children of the orphanage on the coming holidays and presented sweet gifts. During a tea party Andrei Zhishkevich talked to the children, wished them good health, success in their studies and the fulfillment of their wishes,” the press service said.

The Development Bank is a regular participant in the nationwide charity campaign Our Children, and has sponsored Minsk orphanage No.7 since 2013. The institution provides education and accommodation for orphans and children left without parental care. The bank helps strengthen the infrastructure of the institution and assists comprehensive development of the children living there.

The institution is home to 67 children. They live in apartments united by a complex of social amenities. Each apartment consists of an entrance hall, a living room fitted with furniture, TV and radio equipment, five rooms for children, a kitchen-dining room, a sanitary room, and a teacher's room.

The Our Children charity project is running in Belarus from 10 December till 10 January. Every year, heads of ministries and other government agencies, local authorities, representatives of public associations visit children's care homes and family-type homes, foster families, families raising disabled children, correctional and rehabilitation facilities, hospitals. During the campaign, they wish children a Happy New Year and Merry Christmas, give gifts, help address their issues.

Belarus registered 1,957 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours; another 2,644 coronavirus patients were discharged from hospital, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Healthcare Ministry.

The nationwide COVID-19 tally has reached 192,361 cases. A total of 171,901 patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered in Belarus.

As many as 1,414 COVID-19 patients suffering from a number of chronic diseases have died since the infection's outbreak in Belarus.

Belarus performed 3,962,318 tests, 25,454 – in the past 24 hours.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Kazakhstan Pavel Utyupin met with Kazakhstan's Minister of Defense Nurlan Yermekbayev, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Embassy in Kazakhstan.

“The parties discussed a wide range of matters of the bilateral cooperation in military affairs and military technology,” the embassy said.

Pavel Utyupin and Nurlan Yermekbayev also discussed participation of the defense ministries of Belarus and Kazakhstan in joint military drills.

Lyudmila Makarina-Kibak, Deputy Chairwoman of the Commission on Social and Youth Policy, Science, Culture and Humanitarian Affairs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, Chairperson of the Standing Commission on Health, Physical Culture, Family and Youth Policy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, and senior officials of Belarus' logistics operator Beltamozhservice visited the social and educational center with a shelter of the Pervomaisky District of Minsk as part of the Our Children charity campaign on 29 December, BelTA has learned.

It was the first time that the Parliamentary Assembly of Belarus and Russia and Beltamozhservice organized a joint charity event. They wished the kids a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and gave them toys, sweet boxes, while the social and educational center got an outdoor playground. Pupils together with their teachers prepared New Year's greetings to the guests: they recited their own verses and put up a theatrical performance.

“Children are our future, they deserve happiness. In the New Year, every child wants his dreams and wishes to come true. During this period it is especially important to visit the children who are deprived of some important things due to life circumstances and give them love and attention. Today we decided to do this as part of the Our Children charity campaign. Of course, children should be taken care of every day, which is what our state does. Much attention is paid to the health and well-being of children,” Lyudmila Makarina-Kibak said.

Beltamozhservice Director General Vadim Babarikin noted that the winter holidays are very important for everyone, especially kids. "Each of us has the most pleasant feelings, the most joyful and dear memories from childhood. Support, help and attention during the New Year's campaign Our Children are very important for children who are in a socially vulnerable situation. It has already become a good tradition. By participating in the charity campaign together with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, we give it an international dimension, involve more caring people,” he noted.

The Our Children charity project is running in Belarus from 10 December till 10 January. Every year, heads of ministries and other government agencies, local authorities, representatives of public associations visit children's care homes and family-type homes, foster families, families raising disabled children, correctional and rehabilitation facilities, hospitals. During the campaign, they wish children a Happy New Year and Merry Christmas, give gifts, help address their issues.

The 6th Belarusian People's Congress dedicated website vsebel.by is now online. The website offers various information materials concerning preparations for and the actual congress, BelTA has learned.

The website offers information from various sources. Internet users are invited to browse analytical articles and news articles of printed mass media, photo and video stories of TV channels, digital mass media, and the news agency BelTA.

The website is updated every day in real time. The materials are distributed into news, photos, videos, and history. The section dedicated to the history of the forum offers detailed description of the previous congresses, which were held in 1996-2016, and their results.

An interactive component is part of the website, too: in the Feedback section users can see complete information about working hours and addresses of community liaison offices in every oblast and can submit their proposals about the matters they are interested in. To do it, they have to choose their region and fill in the submission form.

Belarus' Healthcare Ministry, Russia's Ministry of Health and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) have announced the start of the COVID-19 vaccination program in Belarus. The first batch of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V has arrived in Belarus today, BelTA learned from the press service of the Healthcare Ministry.

Belarus' Healthcare Minister Dmitry Pinevich noted that "immunization plays an essential role in the fight against the epidemiological process. Today we will kick off a new stage - mass vaccination against COVID-19. The first to be vaccinated will be healthcare professionals, teachers and specialists who, due to their profession, come into contact with people a lot. Vaccination will be voluntary."

According to him, Belarus has set up a vaccine storage system to keep the cold chain, purchased special medical freezer equipment to transport the vaccine. Dmitry Pinevich added: "We thank Russia for active interaction and strategic cooperation in tackling this issue."

Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko noted that prompt access of Belarus to the Russian vaccine was made possible thanks to the effective work of the Belarusian regulatory system. It is important to emphasize the country's rational approach to local vaccine clinical trials. The protocol of the trials conducted in the country enabled to confirm, in a short period of time, the validity of the extensive Russian data on the Sputnik V clinical trials for residents of Belarus,” he said.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said Belarus was the first foreign country to officially register the vaccine. “Today, Belarus has become the first country to start mass vaccination with Sputnik V. The next stage of cooperation between the RDIF and partners will be the start the vaccine production in Belarus, which will significantly simplify logistics, speed up the rate of vaccination and will prevent the spread of the disease," he concluded.

COVID-19 cases have plateaued in Belarus and might decline after the holidays, Aleksandr Tarasenko, Deputy Healthcare Minister – Chief Sanitary Inspector of the Republic of Belarus, said in an interview with the ONT TV channel, BelTA reports.

“Of course, it's too early to talk about this, but I think that the cases have hit a plateau, and depending on how the holidays - New Year and Christmas - will go, we might be able to see a gradual decline in caseloads throughout the country,” Aleksandr Tarasenko said.

The Healthcare Ministry's anti-coronavirus recommendations remain the same – social distancing, limiting face-to-face contact, avoiding crowds, wearing masks. According to the chief sanitary inspector, a certain part of the population rejects these rules and believes that wearing masks is ineffective, although doctors think the opposite. “Many people don't experience any symptoms after becoming infected, but they can still spread the virus to other people. Therefore, wearing a mask is a must,” he explained.

Commenting on the new mutated virus, Aleksandr Tarasenko noted that the mutation is not so significant and there is no evidence suggesting that it can affect the severity of the disease.

He believes that Belarus has chosen the right way to handle the spread of the coronavirus. “Each country has its own strategy. Someone opts for the so-called lockdown and imposes strict quarantine measures. Belarus' current coronavirus containment strategy is correct and effective,” he said.

Speaking about the effectiveness of coronavirus vaccination, Aleksandr Tarasenko noted that one has to wait for a year to see whether the vaccination-induced immunity will be long lasting.

According to the deputy minister, vaccination in Belarus will begin no later than the first quarter of 2021. “Negotiations are in full swing with the Russian Federation and other countries. However, it is not until the first quarter that we get things going. Of course, we expect that it will happen earlier - the beginning of January. I think, the vaccination will definitely begin in the first quarter,” he noted. The number of people who will get coronavirus shots will be as many or maybe more than those who get flu vaccines.

Citizens will have to volunteer for the forthcoming coronavirus vaccination.

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the relevant statement as he visited the Minsk Children's Infectious Diseases Hospital on 25 December, BelTA has learned.

Aleksandr Lukashenko explained that plans had been made to use several vaccines from different manufacturers for vaccination in Belarus. “We intend to get 1.2 million people vaccinated. How many will be vaccinated in the end depends on you. Maybe 2 million. It depends on whether people will go for it. If they want to get vaccinated, we will give them an opportunity to do it. We intend to offer a selection of vaccines,” he noted.

The Russian vaccine Belarus intends to buy and also manufacture locally will be used first. The ability to get vaccinated using vaccines from other countries and other producers will be offered later on. It will help determine which vaccine is most effective. “So that you don't criticize us,” Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked. “Nobody knows which vaccine is the best one at present. We have plans for 5-6 vaccines. Depending on what terms we may agree. They are in short supply right now.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko admitted that personally he is one of those sceptics who believe that if a person lives a normal life, he or she has sufficient immunity against many diseases. However, those, who want to protect themselves with a vaccine, will be given an opportunity to do so. “Vaccination will happen. If you want it, you will get vaccinated. If you don't, we will not force anyone to do it. It is up to you to decide on vaccination,” the president stated.

On December 25, the charitable motor rally continues, the purpose of which is to give the pupils of boarding schools and boarding schools in the Minsk region not only gifts, but also attention.

On the holiday, caring Belarusians will meet with children in Gorodey and Kopyl.

Charitable action “Children of Minsk Region. For peace! For stability! For Belarus! " at it's peak. Early in the morning, everyone turned into real wizards, disguised as the recognizable heroes of everyone's favorite fairy tales. The cars were loaded with gifts - there was a difficult road ahead, almost 98 km had to be covered. And all so that young Belarusians and Belarusians from the Gorodeya auxiliary boarding school and the Kopyl auxiliary boarding school never lose heart and continue to believe in a miracle.

One of the participants in the charity rally, Yevgeny Lavrushko, deputy general director for personnel and ideological work at OJSC Minoblavtotrans, even took his daughter Sonya with him.

- The sensations are wonderful now, we have prepared many surprises for the children. It's good that we organize such events that we have the opportunity to go, congratulate and give the kids the feeling of the New Year, ”says Yevgeny Lavrushko. - In my opinion, children enjoy not so much gifts as attention.

Dozens of cars were preparing to leave the parking lot, but that's not all: the convoy will expand. Regional representatives will join the rally in each district.

In turn, Nikolai Bashko, head of the main education department of the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee, emphasizes that the action perfectly demonstrates how many people are not indifferent in Belarus.

“Those who want to communicate with the guys, find out their aspirations, and, of course, give gifts,” Nikolay Nikolayevich specified.

The day before, the delegation visited the Rudensk auxiliary boarding school and the Cherven boarding house for disabled children with special psycho-physical development. The children were presented with sweets, toys and certificates for the purchase of sports equipment and school supplies.

A session of the interstate network of institutes of public health and informatization of healthcare of the CIS member states was held via videoconferencing, BelTA learned from the department of cooperation in humanitarian affairs, political and social issues of the CIS Executive Committee.

The participants of the session assessed the performance of the network of institutes in 2020 and considered proposals from the CIS member states relating to the draft action plan for 2021. Plans are in place to focus on prevention and combating of non- communicable diseases, HIV, tuberculosis, and the novel coronavirus. The session intends to take stock of the execution of the action plan to implement the strategy on health of the population of the CIS member states for 2020-2021.

In addition, plans are in place to translate the 11th version of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems into the Russian language.

The participants of the session also discussed the status of implementation of decisions and instructions of the CIS council for cooperation in healthcare. The next session will take place February 2021.