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Thanks to the coronavirus response measures adopted by Belarus and Russia, we can expect full resumption of passenger transport communication between the two countries, Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko told journalists after the talks with his Russian counterpart Mikhail Mishustin in Moscow on 26 January, BelTA has learned.
The parties discussed plans to increase the number of flights between Belarus and Russia. “As the situation with COVID-19 has stabilized thanks to the response measures, including vaccination, we are approaching the point when we can fully resume passenger transport service,” Roman Golovchenko said.
The final decision has not been made yet, he stressed. According to Roman Golovchenko, shutting down the Belarusian-Russian border was not politically motivated. “This matter is directly linked with the coronavirus. We expect the border to reopen soon. This is why we discussed the resumption of transport service. These matters are interconnected,” Roman Golovchenko stressed.
The modern youth understand that the country's future depends on them, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the BRSM Youth Union, a member of the Council of the Republic Dmitry Voronyuk told BelTA following a meeting with finalists of the national contest Student of the Year.
“In the run-up to the Belarusian People's Congress, we held an open dialogue with the best students of the country – the finalists of the national contest Student of the Year. We discussed the draft social and economic development program for the next five-year period. Belarusian students have an active civil position. They are concerned about the country's future. They do not ask the country to do anything for them or to give them anything – they understand that they should do something for the benefit of Belarus themselves,” Dmitry Voronyuk said.
According to him, the modern youth wants to create close-knit families and give birth to healthy children. “They understand that upbringing of patriots begins in the family. The family fosters respect for work, values, and spirituality. The students have a very strong view, thinking that we should promote these values. They noted that it is important that the draft development program envisages efforts to preserve family values and traditions, the nation's physical and spiritual health,” Dmitry Voronyuk noted.
During the meeting, the students also touched upon the matters of scientific development, the youth's participation in small business, and occupational guidance. “These are our thoughts ahead of the Belarusian People's Congress. It is good that the youth make their voice heard, that they have something to say,” Dmitry Voronyuk added.
As many as 140 members of the BRSM Youth Union will take part in the Belarusian People's Congress.
The 6th Belarusian People's Congress will take place in Minsk on 11-12 February 2021. The main provisions of Belarus' social and economic development program for 2021-2025, as well as the trends of the country's social and political development will be discussed by the participants of the Congress. The total number of the participants and invitees will be 2,700 people.
The implementation of the government program People's Health and Demographic Security will require Br46.8 billion in 2021-2025 BelTA learned from the Council of Ministers' resolution No.28 of 19 January 2021.
The central state budget will have to provide Br11.45 billion of the total while municipal budgets will appropriate over Br31.9 billion. Plans have been made to raise Br2.5 million as proprietary funds of organizations and Br3 billion from income-generating activities of public sector organizations. Plans have also been made to borrow Br290.5 million to finance the government program.
The aggregate birth rate is supposed to reach 1.32-1.46 children per woman by 2025. The total number of births has been falling in Belarus since 2016. In 2019 the number of births dropped by 25.6% in comparison with 2016. The aggregate birth rate dropped from 1.73 to 1.38 children per woman of fertile age in this period.
The government expects alcohol consumption to drop to 9.8 liters per capita. The figure stood at 13.3 liters in 2010 and 10.5 liters in 2019. The government will work out the concept of an anti-alcohol policy in 2021-2022 in addition to considering the possibility of raising minimal prices for strong alcohol by a margin that exceeds core inflation forecasts by 20-40%. There are plans to limit sales of energy drinks to the underage.
By 2025 the consumption of all types of tobacco products among people aged 18-69 is supposed to drop to 27.4%.
Apart from that, tuberculosis mortality is supposed to drop to 2.11 per 100,000 people. In 2019 it dropped by 45% in comparison with 2015 (from 4 to 2.2 per 100,000 people).
The government provides for building (reconstructing) 44 healthcare institutions (28 hospitals and healthcare centers, 13 clinics and three health improvement organizations).
Adoption of a new regulation or a law should be preceded by a more thorough study; experts and law enforcement officers should be actively involved in their development, lawyer Sergei Lapsar, a delegate of the forthcoming 6th Belarusian People's Congress, told BelTA.
He noted that it is a great honor for him to be a delegate of the congress. “As a lawyer, an active member of a public association (BRSM Youth Union), I am interested in the economic and legal aspects of the country's development in the next five years. I would like to see in which direction we will move. And, if there is an opportunity, I would like to put forward my proposals and ideas,” he said. Sergei Lapsar noted that he actively participated in discussion platforms that offered a debate on topical issues of the country's development, as well as on constitutional reform.
“I strongly believe that legal norms should be worked out more thoroughly before they are approved. Law enforcers sometimes come across regulations that, in their opinion, require some kind of adjustment and revision,” the lawyer said.
At one of the discussion platforms in which the lawyer took part, the participants discussed the need to amend the Council of Ministers' Resolution No. 229 on the procurement of goods. “I think I was not the only one who spoke about this, the topic was probably discussed at different levels. But the fact is that in December 2020, much-needed changes came into force,” he said. The amendments will give an advantage to domestic manufacturers. This is one of the ways to support Belarusian producers, the lawyer added.
According to him, a constant dialogue is needed in legislative work. The form and mechanism of such a discussion should be established. For example, constitutional reform can be discussed through a large-scale public debate or a round table, while normative acts in a certain area or industry should be discussed in some other way. “My fellow lawyers and I are still thinking about this in an effort to develop an effective proposal,” Sergei Lapsar added.
The Maksim Tank Belarusian State Pedagogical University (BSPU) has played host to the online dialogue “Preservation of the Memory about the Great Patriotic War as a Binding Thread between Generations” ahead of the international 56th Star Expedition campaign around the places of military glory and labor excellence, BelTA has learned.
The event was attended by representatives of educational institutions and museum workers of Belarus and Uzbekistan.
“The Star Expedition campaign around the places of military glory and labor excellence of the Belarusian people began in 1966. It is great that our pedagogical university has preserved this tradition. The Star Expedition has become an important youth project of civil and patriotic orientation. Its main task is to preserve and multiple the memory of the great feat,” said BSPU First Vice Rector Svetlana Kopteva.
According to her, originally the Star Expedition was held with the participation of representatives of universities of the Soviet Union, who started from their countries to meet in Belarus. “We preserved the name and traditions. Only now the campaign kicks off from one place, the Belarusian State Pedagogical University, and travel to different regions of the country,” said the first vice rector.
Svetlana Kopteva emphasized that the Star Expedition campaign has become international in recent years. The project has been supported by the BSPU partner universities from Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan. In addition, international students from Turkmenistan and China, who study at the university, take part in the event. “This enriches its program and the content,” she believes.
The 56th edition of the Star Expedition will take place on 27-29 January. Eight units (over 250 students and teachers) are set to visit Dzerzhinsk, Krupki, Luban, Slutsk, Soligorsk and Chervyen districts of Minsk Oblast and Lida and Novogrudok districts of Grodno Oblast. The campaign will feature meetings and flower ceremonies at mass graves of soldiers and civilians who died during the war, concerts in educational institutions of the regions, vocational guidance meetings with senior pupils, workshops and sport competitions. Along with Belarusian students, taking part in the Star Expedition will be BSPU students from China, Russia, and Turkmenistan.
“I am sure that such an event is useful for young people. They will not only remember it, but also use this unique experience in their future professional activities,” the first vice rector added.
Belarus registered 1,778 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours; 2,292 coronavirus patients were discharged from hospitals, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Healthcare Ministry.
The nationwide COVID-19 tally has reached 230,494 cases. A total of 214,366 patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered in Belarus.
As many as 1,610 COVID-19 patients have died since the infection's outbreak in Belarus.
Belarus has performed 4,295,374 tests, including 15,060 tests in the past 24 hours.
The vaccination of frontline healthcare workers has started in Belarus, BelTA learned from the press service of the Healthcare Ministry.
“Healthcare institutions have received Sputnik V vaccines for frontline healthcare workers. First of all, there are plans to vaccinate 2,285 health workers in Minsk, 3,460 in Brest Oblast, 3,260 in Vitebsk Oblast, 4,365 in Gomel Oblast, 1,735 in Grodno Oblast, 1,610 in Mogilev Oblast, 2,485 in Minsk Oblast. About 800 doses are meant for the staff of national healthcare centers,” the press service informed.
The Healthcare Ministry noted that it is a common international practice to start vaccination from healthcare workers. The Healthcare Ministry has distributed the vaccines across the regions depending on applications of healthcare institutions. The cold chain compliance procedure is observed.
The number of pneumonia cases keeps falling in Belarus, Healthcare Minister Dmitry Pinevich told the STV TV channel, BelTA informs.
“The downward trend started to take shape before the holidays and it is gaining momentum now. We are glad to see a rather steady decline in the number of pneumonia cases. However, this trend might slightly change in early or mid February, because this is the time for seasonal infections, like influenza and the like. However, the rise in seasonal diseases is not expected to be particularly strong, since more than 40% of the population was timely vaccinated against influenza. There was no need to persuade people to get a vaccine – they did it willingly. Those who did not have contraindications for vaccination and fit our criteria were vaccinated,” the minister said.
Speaking about the coronavirus vaccination campaign, the minister noted that a contract for 170,000 Sputnik V vaccines had been signed. “This is the first batch of vaccines and we received it already. It was divided into several small batches. Some 20,000 vaccines arrived by the New Year, their safety and quality were checked. Now we continue vaccinating healthcare workers. We expect the next batch to arrive in the near future. Teachers will be next in line for a COVID-19 vaccine. In the first quarter of this year, we are set to release the Sputnik V vaccine under the Belarusian brand, together with Russian colleagues at the Belarus-based Belmedpreparaty pharmaceutical company,” he explained.
When asked when all other people will be able to get a vaccine, Dmitry Pinevich replied: “I think it will be possible somewhere in April: when we finish vaccinating vulnerable and supervised population groups (healthcare workers, teachers, transport, trade and media workers), we will start vaccinating other groups,” he said.
Belarus registered 1,933 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours; 2,176 coronavirus patients were discharged from hospitals, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Healthcare Ministry.
The nationwide COVID-19 tally has reached 223,537 cases. A total of 206,676 patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered in Belarus.
As many as 1,573 COVID-19 patients have died since the infection's outbreak in Belarus.
Belarus has performed 4,238,864 tests, 22,769 tests in the past 24 hours.
Belarus is a country of opportunities for young people who can fulfill their potential and achieve their goals here, Chairman of the Youth Parliament at Belarus' National Assembly Yegor Makarevich told the ONT TV channel, BelTA has learned.
“I strongly believe that I am lucky (I say this all the time and I am not going to change my mind) to live in a country of opportunities,” Yegor Makarevich said.
According to him, he is a living example proving that young people can be a success in Belarus. According to the chairman of the youth parliament, there are many professionals in various areas of expertise among his peers. Their professional success was possible due to the enabling environment created in the country. “It is absolutely incomprehensible to me how you can criticize the country that gave you the opportunity to grow, to achieve everything,” he said.
The presenter of the program, head of the ONT TV channel Marat Markov asked the young parliamentarian how he would approach possible criticism that he has lived his whole life under one president and he simply has not seen an alternative. “We could talk about this if we did not live in the 21st century, if there were no total digitalization, globalization, ability to move. Today, when you live in an absolutely open space, you can compare, travel, communicate with peers living abroad. One cannot say that this is some kind of one-sided thinking,” the youth parliament leader said.
