Volozhin Region
Executive Committee

Belarus has restricted departure across land borders amid the coronavirus pandemic. Resolution No. 705 of the Council of Ministers of 7 December "On amending the Council of Ministers' Resolution No. 208 of 8 April 2020 and Resolution No. 624 of 30 October 2020" was published on the National Legal Internet Portal on 10 December, BelTA has learned.

The document has been adopted to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 infection. "Crossing of the state border of the Republic of Belarus to exit the Republic of Belarus by Belarus citizens and foreign nationals who have Belarus' permanent or temporary residency permit is temporarily suspended," the resolution reads.

The restriction applies to road checkpoints, simplified border checkpoints, checkpoints at railway stations and in river ports.

“In exceptional cases involving extraordinary circumstances, and also in order to ensure the national interests of the Republic of Belarus, the head of the State Border Committee or an authorized official may allow crossing the state border of the Republic of Belarus to depart the country,” the document says.

The new rules do not apply to diplomats, international drivers, business travelers, those visiting seriously ill relatives or funerals, those going to work or study, and others. A cap is imposed on trips for work or study abroad: such trips can be made only once in six months.

There are no restrictions on entry, but those arriving in the country “are required to self-isolate for 10 days from the date of arrival in the Republic of Belarus and cannot cross the state border of the Republic of Belarus until the expiration of the self-isolation period”. Foreigners over six years old “must have an original or a copy of a medical document either in hard copy or an electronic form, confirming a negative COVID-19 test result”. The requirement does not apply to citizens with temporary or permanent residency permits.

The decree comes into force 10 days after its official publication.

Belarus' State Border Committee commented on the decision to restrict departures amid COVID-19, BelTA learned from the press service of the State Border Committee.

“The restrictions come into force on 00.00 on 21 December and will apply to foreign nationals and Belarusian citizens crossing the border in both directions through ground checkpoints on the border with Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. Similar measures, in various forms, were imposed in Latvia, Lithuania and Russia. Thus, the departure of Belarusian citizens and foreign nationals living permanently in our country through ground checkpoints, except for some cases, is temporarily suspended. The restriction will not apply to air checkpoints,” State Border Committee said.

Restrictions on entry for foreigners through ground checkpoints remain in force. In addition, foreign nationals over six years old will need medical documents confirming the negative PRC tests for COVID-19.

“Foreign nationals and Belarusian citizens arriving from the countries included by the Healthcare Ministry of Belarus in the list of COVID-19 high-risk countries are required to self-isolate for 10 days from the date of arrival. They cannot cross the state border of the Republic of Belarus until the expiration of the self-isolation period. In case of the 24-hour transit and the documentary proof of this transit, no COVID-19 test or the 10-day self-isolation will be required. If the transit time exceeds 24 hours, the traveler may cross the border only if he or she has the corresponding medical document,” the State Border Committee said.

The document lists the categories of persons that are not subject to temporary restrictions. For example, these are diplomats, members of official delegations, international drivers, foreigners traveling for work or medical assistance, Belarusian nationals traveling abroad on notification of death or illness of a relative, as well as for work, on business, education and others. The rule does not apply to Russian citizens transiting through Belarus to the Russian Federation.

People may be allowed to cross the border in exceptional cases.

“Border checkpoints will continue to operate, yet with stricter restrictions in place in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection in Belarus,” the State Border Committee said.

Belarus has restricted departure across land borders amid the coronavirus pandemic. Resolution No. 705 of the Council of Ministers of 7 December "On amending the Council of Ministers' Resolution No. 208 of 8 April 2020 and Resolution No. 624 of 30 October 2020" was published on the National Legal Internet Portal on 10 December. The document has been adopted to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 infection. The decree comes into force 10 days after its official publication.

The bill "On amending the laws on mediation” passed the first reading at the meeting of the fourth session of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the seventh convocation, BelTA has learned.

Presenting the bill to the MPs, Justice Minister Oleg Slizhevsky noted that the bill was drafted to implement the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation. "The convention was signed by Belarus in August 2019. It is important as it consolidates the international legal mechanism for the recognition and execution of international mediation agreements. The business entities that have resolved a dispute using the mediation procedure will be able to enforce a settlement agreement in any state - party to the convention," he said.

The bill provides for the amendments to the Economic Procedures Code, the Tax Code, the law on mediation to incorporate the rules allowing to recognize and execute international mediation agreements.

“We believe that the status of Belarus as the initial signatory of the convention, as one of the first states to recognize it as binding and the country that has committed to introducing relevant amendment to the national legislation will contribute to the country's image as a state advocating the improvement of international regulation in international trade,” Oleg Slizhevsky said.

For Belarus, the convention will come into force on 15 January 2021. Irina Lukanskaya, a member of the Standing Commission on Legislation of the House of Representatives, noted that the main goal of the convention is to promote harmonious international economic relations, using mediation as a way to resolve international commercial dispute and to guarantee the possibility of enforcing settlement agreements reached through mediation.

"In order to incorporate in the national legislation the subject matter of the international settlement agreement, the grounds for recognition of international settlement agreements and grounds for refusal to enforce them, we are adjusting the Economic Procedures Code. We are also amending the taxation on income derived from a settlement agreement in order to formalize the issues of collecting the state fee for review of an application to issue a document to enforce an international settlement agreement,” Irina Lukanskaya said.

In addition, the mediation law is supplemented with the provisions defining an international settlement agreement and the provisions governing the order of recognition and enforcement of international settlement agreements. “It is also supplemented with a provision defining a separate settlement unit of a legal entity,” Irina Lukanskaya said.

Frost and sun in a sports day! The winter season starts in the ski centers of Minsk region.

Traditionally, the slopes in Logoisk ski complex are the first to snow: there is already a training and one of the main slopes. Sports equipment rental is at the disposal of all active leisure lovers.

This season, interest in the frosty drive on the slopes is increased not only among Belarusians. Many have missed the real winter. Despite the epidemic difficulties, people from neighboring countries are also striving to come to us.

Leonid Kravchuk, head of the department of the Logoisk ski sports and recreation complex: “Requests come from Russia, Ukraine. We answer all questions and cooperate with our customs committee to understand who can cross the border and what conditions are needed for this. we are also a health complex. Do not forget this. Therefore, we offer an active type of recreation, sauna rest, quests. We have our own equestrian club, and we can offer horse rides as well."

By the way, experienced instructors in both skiing and snowboarding are engaged with beginners. Some of them are international masters of sports.

Maria Tikhvinskaya, ski instructor, master of sports of Russia of international class: "The snow is very dense, good, not watery. Ideal for training. We do our best for our friends to come to ski and snowboard. We conduct training in a playful way, so that our children really like it."

Note that preparing for the season these days and in the republican ski center "Silichi". On Friday, December 11, two tracks will open here at once.

Belarus registered 1,851 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours; another 2,422 coronavirus patients were discharged from hospital, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Healthcare Ministry.

The nationwide COVID-19 tally has reached 152,453 cases. A total of 129,950 patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered in Belarus.

As many as 1,230 COVID-19 patients suffering from a number of chronic diseases have died since the infection's outbreak in Belarus.

Belarus performed 3,487,468 tests, 25,715 – in the past 24 hours.

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko proposed to give the Belarusian People's Congress a constitutional authority as he met with the staff of Stolbtsy Central District Hospital on 8 December, BelTA has learned.

"I am not sure whether you will support it or not but I think the Belarusian People's Congress should become a constitutional body. We need to have such a body that would supervise the main areas of the country's development," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

According to the president, the agenda of the Belarusian People's Congress will be finalized after the Christmas holidays. The event will be held in late January - early February. “We need to approve the pans for the next five years, the way we will be moving forward in the social and economic development. The main thing is the economic development and we will be working on this. People need to know the goals for five years ahead. The second issue is politics. You suggested it yourselves: the Constitution and so on,” the head of state noted.

The head of state also proposed to elect delegates for a five-year term. They will work on a voluntary basis. At the same time, their role and status will be enhanced greatly: speakers of parliament, ministers and governors will be accountable to them.

“If we remove some presidential responsibilities, we have to transfer them somewhere. These powers are not suitable for the government and parliament. Who do we vest them with? We have to look for such a body. We have the Belarusian People's Congress. Therefore, some powers will have to be transferred,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “If we dilute the powers of the president and vest them with the parliament, the government, ministers and governors, we will face a complete chaos, like the one we experienced in the mid-1990s. Therefore, we need a stabilizing authority. It will act on behalf of the people, labor collectives. This is not a duplicate of the deputy corps. I am in favor of you making decisions on everything. The people need to decide," he added.

Deputy Prosecutor General of Belarus Dmitry Gora has taken part in an online seminar on anti-corruption cooperation in fight against COVID-19 and the restoration of economies of the Belt and Road initiative's partner states.

During the seminar the official presented the national experience of counteracting corruption while overcoming consequences of the pandemic, BelTA has learned.

The seminar was organized by the National Supervisory Commission of the People's Republic of China.

Dmitry Gora noted that while fighting against corruption Belarus observes such fundamental principles as the transparency of actions and decisions of government agencies, the effectiveness of control and oversight procedures in this field, the inevitability of prosecution for violating anti-corruption requirements. The observance of these principles does not depend on any special circumstances, including the spread of COVID-19.

The official stressed that the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) and the United Nations Organization follow the same model. He noted Belarus fully shares these approaches of the respected international organizations in the fight against corruption.

Dmitry Gora said that a set of additional measures had been implemented in Belarus since the onset of the pandemic in order to remove causes and conditions conducive to corruption and corruption-related risks. Steps were taken to liberalize economic activities, reduce and simplify administrative procedures, perfect oversight routines.

Among the main measures the official mentioned the decision to extend the validity of all kinds of certificates and documents by six months in line with the presidential decree of 25 November 2020, the issuance of the presidential decree on supporting the economy of 24 April 2020, efforts to overcome the pandemic at the national level and the international one.

Dmitry Gora believes it is the international cooperation in the field of law, including interaction between the relevant agencies, that offers a considerable potential and a promising resource for finding effective ways to combat corruption.

The country office of the World Health Organization (WHO) has provided the Minsk National Airport with thermal imagers, individual and collective protective gear, and disinfectants, BelTA has learned.

Equipment worth a total of $47,000 was bought and handed over as part of the project designed to bolster the WHO's preparedness and response measures against the COVID-19 pandemic. The project is financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and meets all the WHO requirements.

The two new heat imagers the airport has received can detect people with fever among passengers. It is of critical importance for screening travelers and can help prevent or slow down the spread of COVID-19. A batch of protective gear and diagnostic tools includes 305 disposable protective suits, 20 full-face masks with filters, 106 FFP2 class respirators and 110 FFP3 class respirators, 1,000 disposable face masks, 30 protective face shields, vinyl gloves, boot covers, 50 panoramic hermetic goggles, 54 elbow-operated disinfectant dispensers, 50 flasks with disinfectants, two oxygen saturation monitors, and four non-contact infrared thermometers.

Head of the WHO Country Office in Belarus Masoud Dara stressed: “The airport plays a very important role from the point of view of the safety of passengers and the personnel that work here. The World Health Organization with USAID's assistance is pleased to provide the airport with aid for the sake of effectively fighting the coronavirus. The wearing of masks, the observance of physical distancing, hand hygiene – it is particularly important to observe all these measures here.”

Mikhail Volochko, Head of the Material Supply and Procurement Service of the enterprise Minsk National Airport, said: “This aid will substantially enhance our potential to stop the pandemic and to also develop transportation by air in these conditions. We try to focus on preventing diseases. The protective gear and diagnostic tools will be immediately put to use. We are grateful to the World Health Organization and to international donors for gratuitous aid to the airport in such a complicated period of time.”

Previously the Belarusian national center for hygiene, epidemiology, and public health received a batch of equipment worth $210,000 for diagnosing and treating COVID-19 patients as part of a USAID-WHO project. The national center for organizing medical response received 250 oxygen concentrators worth a total of $211,000.

Maintaining the achieved level of development and gaining a momentum is among the most important tasks for 2021, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he convened a meeting to discuss the performance of the economy in 2020 and the draft forecast documents for 2021, BelTA has learned.

The head of state noted that in the forecast documents the government proposes to focus on social stability and the tasks that ensure it, namely: income growth, control of prices for socially important goods, housing construction, control of unemployment. “The approach is conceptually correct,” the president said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that the task of price control should not only concern food products: “Who said that a refrigerator and a washing machine are not important products for the population? They are. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a mechanism to curb prices in all areas and parameters. Now it turns out that we control the farmers only (prices for food and clothes), and everyone else feel relaxed. It still somehow affects the pricing in agriculture, for food. We have talked about it a lot. We have already developed the practice of controlling prices and curbing inflation.” Trade unions, local councils and MPs are also involved in the process.

“Given the current events taking place both outside and inside the country, it would be reckless to make any ambitious plans for next year. On the other hand, falling behind the achieved level is unacceptable neither socially, nor economically, or politically. I would like to warn the government, governors and all others who will be implementing the decisions on social and economic development: complains that we have a pandemic and the entire economy in the world has stopped and we have no one to work or trade with will not be accepted. Forget about it. Yes, the pandemic is an unpleasant background. We however need to set ourselves goals and, no matter what it takes, achieve them. I demand only one thing: we need to secure positive momentum in all the areas. Each step must necessarily meet two requirements: economic efficiency and careful and attentive attitude to people's needs,” the head of state said.

The president emphasized the need to ensure maximum employment of unemployed citizens. “I would like to stress once again the need to address the unemployment issue at the local level (the oblast executive committees and, first of all, the Minsk City Hall). All the unemployed should be registered with the corresponding services and get employed. I repeat, no matter how unpopular it may sound: today a non-working person is not just a street protester. They are future criminals who commit crimes every day, every week, every month, and we spend huge amounts of money to solve these crimes, and keep these criminals in prisons,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The president asked whether the country has the necessary resources to ensure social focus in the forecast documents. “All the more so that the economic growth will largely depend on the ways to increase domestic demand. This is the right thing to do. Of course, we should meet the domestic demand ourselves. Who will finance it and how? Won't we destroy the stability and balance in the economy? We need to be careful. If we maintain the level of social security next year at the current level, it will be good. If we make progress, it will be very good. What are the investment projects planned for the coming year, and how do they relate to the development of territories and cities with a population of over 80,000 people?” Aleksandr Lukashenko asked.

The head of state expressed concern about the process of budget formation. “It is for the second year in a row that there has been made a proposal to plan a budget deficit. On the one hand, certain budget surplus of the previous years has been accumulated. On the other hand, it is impossible to live on reserves for a long time. What are you planning to do to address this issue?” asked Aleksandr Lukashenko.

The president also singled out medium-term planning as one of the important issues of the meeting: what results the country has achieved ahead of the new five-year period. Aleksandr Lukashenko expressed confidence that ahead of the Belarusian People's Congress it is necessary to name not only the achievements but also to analyze the shortcomings.

According to the head of state, the government, together with a wide range of government agencies and experts, has developed five priorities: improving people's living standards, strengthening the country's economic potential, digital transformation, regions and the formation of development institutions. “Do they cover all the current problems and what are the prospective tasks? Will they help unite the society so that everyone (including those with alternative viewpoints) could see themselves in this large-scale process of renewing Belarus (of course, if they are not blind, they will at least try to see)?” the head of state said.

The documents were generally approved by the president at the end of the meeting. It was noted that earlier the draft budget and the forecast of the country's development for 2021 had been discussed in Parliament, including at the level of specialized commissions. After today's discussion, the documents will be reviewed once again at the expert level with the participation of Belarus Presidential Aide Valery Belsky and representatives of the State Control Committee, the National Academy of Sciences, and, if necessary, the Government and the National Bank. After that, the finalized package of documents will be submitted to the head of state.

District hospitals in Belarus will be renovated and provided with all the necessary equipment in the near future, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as visited Stolbtsy Central District Hospital on 8 December, BelTA has learned.

The head of state stressed that Belarus has established a rather effective healthcare system and there is no need to break it. Cutting-edge care is provided at the level of national research centers. A step below are regional hospitals, inter-district centers. According to the president, it is important now to share the experience and knowledge of doctors from national research centers with doctors in the regions. Aleksandr Lukashenko reminded that specialists who perform sophisticated surgeries receive certain bonuses.

“This is meant to encourage you to grow up the career ladder,” the Belarusian leader said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko drew attention to the efficiency of the inter-district centers. The president believes that a trauma center providing specialist medical care can be set up in Stolbtsy Central District Hospital. The head of state also promised renovation and re-equipment of other district hospitals in the country. “We have already repaired healthcare facilities almost everywhere. Nearly everything is at a decent level, probably except some district hospitals. We will completely refurbish them during this five-year period … We will get them into shape. However, the most important thing is to fully equip them,” the Belarusian leader said.

“We will equip your hospital. Just do not flee to Poland,” the president added with a degree of humor.

Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that the state is investing a lot in the healthcare system. At the same time the head of state urged everyone to take great care of their own health and to live a healthy life. “Free medical care contributes to the fact that people do not take care of their health,” he said.

Speaking about salaries in the healthcare sector, the head of state noted that due to coronavirus bonuses for frontline healthcare workers, the average salary of doctors has already reached the target stipulated by the five-year plan. The current task is to keep it up after the end of the pandemic.