Volozhin Region
Executive Committee

As of 25 October, 83,237 patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19 recovered and were discharged from hospitals in Belarus, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Healthcare Ministry.

The nationwide COVID-19 tally has reached 92,823 cases. Belarus has performed 2,372,445 tests.

As many as 957 COVID-19 patients suffering from a number of chronic diseases have died since the infection's outbreak in Belarus.

The Belarusian air carrier Belavia has canceled all Minsk- Almaty-Minsk flights scheduled for 26 October 2020 – 27 March 2021 following a relevant decision of the Kazakhstan authorities, BelTA learned from the website of the airline.

Belavia will fly from Minsk to Nur-Sultan on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday and from Nur-Sultan to Minsk on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Customers who purchased tickets for these travel dates will be able to apply for a refund or to reschedule their flights till 30 March 2021. Tickets can be refunded and flights can be rescheduled at company's offices and customer service centers.

The Healthcare Ministry of Belarus has updated the list of countries where COVID-19 cases are reported, BelTA learned from the ministry's press service.

The list was updated in line with a number of criteria, including epidemiological risks (number of cases and dynamics), and a country's coronavirus response strategy.

On 21 October the list included 28 countries excluded from it earlier. These are France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Moldova, United States, Lebanon, Netherlands, Iceland, Czech Republic, UK, Romania, North Macedonia, Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Tunisia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, Poland, Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Malta, Bulgaria and Canada.

People coming from the above-mentioned countries are required to self-isolate for 10 days upon the arrival in Belarus.

The Belarusian air carrier Belavia has extended suspension of air travel to Riga, Tallinn and Larnaca till 14 November, BelTA learned from the website of the airline.

Belavia will not fly to Riga, Tallinn, and Larnaca till 14 November, to all destinations in Georgia till 31 October, and to Ashgabat till 1 November. Flights to Budapest and Russia's Voronezh, Kazan, and Nizhny Novgorod are suspended till 24 October.

Customers who purchased tickets for these travel dates will be able to apply for a refund or to reschedule their flights till 30 March 2021. Tickets can be refunded and flights can be rescheduled at company's offices and customer service centers.

A workshop “Belarus-Africa: Multi-vector economic policy of the Republic of Belarus on the international arena” will be held online on 29 October, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which is organizing the event together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The online workshop is expected to bring together the heads of the diplomatic missions of Belarus in Egypt (concurrently in Sudan), in South Africa (concurrently in Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Namibia), in Kenya (concurrently in Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania), and in Nigeria (in Ghana, Cameroon and Ivory Coast).

“The diplomats will present the information about the promising areas of trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and African countries, the ways Belarusian companies can access the markets of the countries of the region and the specificities of cooperation with African partners. The heads of diplomatic missions will share other practical information important for Belarusian manufacturers as they promote their exports to the African continent. Belarusian participants will also have an opportunity to send their questions to diplomats,” the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.

The Belarusian air carrier Belavia will increase the number of Minsk-Moscow-Minsk flights to three a week on 19 October, BelTA learned from the press service of Belavia.

Belavia will fly to Domodedovo Airport in Moscow on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, departing from Minsk at 13:35 and arriving in Moscow at 14:55. The Moscow-Minsk flight will depart at 14:45 and arrive in Minsk National Airport at 16:05.

Belavia recommends getting familiar with travel restrictions in the destination country beforehand.

Tickets are available at belavia.by, airline ticket offices and agents.

Air traffic between Russia and Belarus was resumed on 21 September: one flight a week was authorized on a mutual basis. On 14 October, the countries agreed to increase the number of flights en route Moscow-Minsk to three a week on a mutual basis.

Some 1,000 transactions to sell meat raw materials for the needs of domestic processing companies have been conducted at the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) since the start of the year, BelTA learned from the press service of the BUCE.

More than half of this amount was provided by Belarusian manufacturers. Frozen and chilled cattle meat as well as by-products were in the highest demand.

Foreign suppliers from the UK, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland accounted for 47% of all transactions with meat raw materials. Foreign companies mainly bought pork and poultry.

The BUCE stressed the recently increased activity by large meat processing companies at the exchange. “Some meat processing companies increased their purchases by 50-70% year-on-year. First of all, the matter pertains to imported products. With the ongoing reduction of meat production in the main exporting countries, many foreign suppliers have significantly raised prices. However, competition at the stock exchange trading managed to partially level this price hike. Today, one of the key factors stimulating domestic processing companies to expand the use of exchange mechanism is the opportunity to save on the purchase of meat raw materials,” the BUCE said.

The Belarusian Transport and Communications Ministry seeks to resume flights from Minsk to regions of Russia, BelTA learned from the press service of the ministry.

“The number of flights en route Moscow-Minsk will be increased to three a week on a mutual basis. Flights to other Russian cities are currently off the agenda. However, we expect to reach relevant agreements and resume air travel to Russian regions,” the press service said.

Railway passenger traffic between Belarus and Russia is still suspended. The ministry noted that the countries are in talks over this issue. The transport ministries will make the decision in view of the epidemiological situation and then harmonize the organizational matters.

“As for air travel, at first, we agreed to operate one flight a week, now this number has been increased to three flights a week. We hope that we will make similar progress regarding other means of transport,” the press service added.

BelTA reported earlier that the number of flights between Russia and Belarus en route Moscow-Minsk will be increased to three a week on a mutual basis. The decision was taken by the Russian Emergency Operations Center to stop COVID-19 spread.

Air traffic between Russia and Belarus was resumed on 21 September: one flight a week was authorized on a mutual basis. Since late September, national carriers Belavia and Aeroflot have operated one roundtrip flight a week between the capitals of the two countries.

As of 1 October 2020, the broad money supply in Belarus amounted to Br50.368 billion, 1.8% down from 1 September, BelTA learned from the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB).

Cash in circulation went down by 1.8% to Br4.009 billion in September.

Transferable deposits went up by 2.5% to Br5.613 billion. Transferable deposits of individuals rose 3.4% to Br2.757 billion as of 1 October. Deposits of companies increased by 1.6% to Br2.855 billion.

The money supply in national terms amounted to Br18.436 billion, 3.3% up in September.

The volume of national currency securities issued by banks (outside bank circulation) reduced by 3.1% in September to Br1.394 billion.

As of 1 October, the ruble money supply amounted to Br19.83 billion, 2.8% up from 1 September.

The volume of foreign currency deposits decreased by 4.9% to Br29.098 billion.

The China-Belarus youth competition of research and innovation projects has received around 200 applications from all Belarusian universities and Chinese undergraduate and postgraduate students who study in Belarus and at Northeastern University of China, Chairman of the Belarusian State Committee on Science and Technology Aleksandr Shumilin said as he attended the opening ceremony of the competition on 13 October, BelTA learned from the press service of committee.

He stressed the importance of the youth competition as it is aimed at developing innovative ventures of the youth. “Belarus lays great emphasis on the development of innovative ventures of the youth and pins hopes on young, energetic, and creative people who are ready for discoveries and constant search for something new,” Aleksandr Shumilin stressed.

He also noted that the China-Belarus youth competition of research and innovation projects is an excellent addition to activities meant to promote the startup movement in Belarus. Last year, the country hosted more than 400 events centered around startups.

Large-scale annual events featuring Chinese scientists, specialists, students, and young researchers have also become a tradition in Belarus. These events include the Belarus-China youth innovation forum New Horizons, the international competition of translation of scientific and technical texts, the Belarus-China international competition and festival of arts Belt and Road. “Our countries put effort in intensifying cooperation in science, technology, and innovations and commercializing the results of research activity. I believe that the China-Belarus youth competition of research and innovation projects will give a new impetus to our work,” Aleksandr Shumilin noted.

In recent years, the Belarus-China cooperation in science has actively developed. In the past five years, the number of joint projects soared by almost 50%. At present, the countries are implementing projects in microelectronics, optics and laser technology, biotechnology, new materials, and other fields. These projects are carried out with the support of the State Committee on Science and Technology of Belarus and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. More than 30 projects are being implemented within the framework of the cooperation between the Belarusian Republican Foundation for Fundamental Research and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

The China-Belarus youth competition of research and innovation projects is running in the Politekhnik science park under Belarusian National Technical University (BNTU) on 13 October. The competition is set to feature a presentation of more than 100 youth research and innovation projects in several fields: materials and chemical products, mechanical engineering and metallurgy, ecology, sustainable management of natural resources, waste recycling, energy saving, healthcare, sanitation, medical equipment, educational technology, and innovations in economy, culture, and art.

The organizers of the competition are the BNTU, the State Committee on Science and Technology, the BNTU Confucius Institute on Science and Technology, and the Chinese Embassy in Belarus.