Volozhin Region
Executive Committee

The main library of Belarusian State University (BSU) has been included in the consortium of digital library networks of classical universities.

This gives the BSU teachers, researchers and students the right to use academic and scientific literature of 32 universities of the CIS member states for free, BelTA learned from the BSU press service.

The universities have joined efforts to expand book holdings and improve cost efficiency by providing free access to collections of digital materials within the framework of the consortium. “At present, the list boasts more than 6,000 academic editions, including books on humanities and natural sciences of Russia's Siberian Federal University, Kazan Federal University, Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod, and Lomonosov Northern (Arctic) Federal University,” the press service said.

The creator and curator of the consortium is the digital library system Lan that compiles collections in eight fields: agriculture, technology, education, healthcare, physical education and sport, economy and law, culture and arts. The BSU book holdings is included in the section “classical universities”. The collection of the consortium includes about 30,000 editions in various academic disciplines and subjects.

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko visited the Belarusian Research Center for Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Immunology on 31 December, BelTA has learned.

The head of state was updated on the status and prospects of development of the national research center. The president also showed interest in the pediatric disease incidence.

“The average annual childhood cancer growth rate in Belarus is exactly like in European countries - under 1%, or 0.76% to be exact,” said Anzhelika Solntseva, the director of the center. She added that about half of those who are diagnosed with cancer for the first time are children of early age and the first four years of life. “The reason is genetic breakdown. But genetics without the influence of environmental factors may not manifest so early,” the director of the institution said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko was interested in the scientific work of the center. The center boasts significant achievements in this area. “There is a lot to be proud of. We have developed high-tech methods of treatment. For example, a special vaccine to treat patients with some oncological diseases. It works well on those who are resistant to conventional therapy. The progress is very good,” Anzhelika Solntseva said.

The center, however, needs to improve its physical infrastructure and upgrade engineering communications to develop further and achieve more success in treating patients. Aleksandr Lukashenko said that the center needs to determine what should be done.

During the meeting with the president, the center's workers asked him about the possibility of building a new surgical unit. According to the healthcare workers, they can do much more if they have enough capacity. “We will take a very close look at the issue because you are treating children. You are treating the future of our nation. Of course, we need to create good conditions for them. Let us gather everyone who wants to help and think about how to do it at a high level,” the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko instructed the healthcare minister, the Minsk Oblast governor and other responsible officials not to delay the preparation of the project and to study foreign analogues if necessary. “We even need to prioritize this unit over the infectious diseases or multi-profile hospital that we decided to build in Novinki. Or, if possible, to do it simultaneously. We need a good project to start building this hospital. It should be done immediately,” said the head of state.

He added that “the healthcare system in the country has been revised and upgraded”, and its modernization will be completed within the next five years.

The head of state also got familiar with medical assistance to children with cancer.

The president was shown the laboratory of genetic biotechnologies. The laboratory was set up on the site of an old pool with the help of Belagroprombank. The laboratory was opened in June 2019. The cost of such laboratories with basic equipment is €1 million. The lab also provides CAR-T therapy, a treatment of tumors with the help of own modified cells. The prime cost of such method is $5,000. If Belarusian doctors used foreign reagents and technologies, the price would go up to $200,000.

In the bone marrow transplantation unit Aleksandr Lukashenko talked to young patients who had undergone surgery and chemotherapy. The children received presents from the president. The Belarusian leader also gave New Year's presents to the patients of the oncology unit and wished them a speedy recovery. Some of them are to be discharged today.

The president wished the children to stay positive. He emphasized that good spirits are a key to fast recovery.

One of the patients - fourth grader Mikhail - told the head of state that he is fond of karate and rowing. Aleksandr Lukashenko promised to organize a training session with professional athletes for him right after his recovery.

Children from other countries are also treated in Borovlyany. One of the boys has been coming here with his mother from Azerbaijan for three years already.

The children also prepared hand-made gifts for the head of state.

The center provides specialized medical aid to patients under 18 with oncological diseases, hematological diseases, primary immunodeficiency disorders and to young people under 30 with some malignant tumors from across Belarus.

The center comprises scientific and clinical departments. The scientific department has five laboratories. The clinical department has 198 beds, 180 of which are oncological and 18 are intensive care and also a consulting and polyclinic department. Every year the center provide its services to some 6,000 patients, 6% of whom are foreign nationals. Consultative care is provided to patients from all regions of the country and foreign citizens: there are some 40,000 visits per year.

The center plans to build a new five-story building to house a consultative and polyclinic department with a capacity of 200 visits per day, a day care department with 80 beds, and an educational and methodological sector. Plans are also in place to build and equip a five-story surgical center (a bone marrow transplant unit for 10 beds, a unit of transfusiology and extracorporeal methods of treatment, a surgical block, a laboratory of cell biotechnology and cytotherapy with a cryobank), temporary housing for patients, center staff and students of the educational center. A major overhaul of the clinical and diagnostic laboratory is also in the plans.

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.