Volozhin Region
Executive Committee

The Education Ministry is actively involved in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

The ministry jointly with educational institutions is recruiting volunteers to help combat the pandemic, BelTA learned from the press service of the ministry.

The work is coordinated and monitored by the National Volunteer Center. It conducts awareness raising campaigns, promotes volunteer movement, recruits volunteers and looks for partners to support its projects and initiatives.

The Education Ministry in collaboration with UNICEF is gearing up to launch the #AntiCOVID-19 project. The project consists of five webinars for volunteer centers and youth policy experts and five online training sessions for volunteers to help them build a better understanding of precautions (in terms of hygiene and psychology) that should be taken while conducting volunteer activities.

New volunteer teams are being set up at higher learning institutions. Volunteers deliver foodstuffs and medicines to people in need. Grodno State Medical University collects and delivers books for those who have to stay indoors. In focus are veterans, orphans and people with special needs. Educational institutions collaborate with the Belarus Red Cross Society, social services centers and healthcare facilities.

In order to support student volunteers and to encourage more students to join the volunteer movement, the National Volunteer Center has launched a series of #AntiCOVID-19 posts in social networks.

The EPAM company and the Minsk development center of the Wargaming company (SOOO Game Stream) have donated the Belmedtekhnika company of the Belarusian Healthcare Ministry 700,000 FFP2 respirators from the world's leading manufacturer 3M, BelTA has learned.

The World Health Organization has recommended this type of personal protective equipment (PPE) to healthcare workers who are treating coronavirus patients. The respirators were shipped to the country with the support of the office of the 3M company in Belarus. “We have joined efforts to help protect those who are working to the top of their abilities taking care of our health and future. The respirators will be given to those who are currently on the frontline of the COVID-19 fight. We would like to thank and support them,” the joint statement of EPAM and SOOO Game Stream reads.

The respirators will be delivered to hospitals that are treating COVID-19 patients. “This is a difficult time for all countries. Supplying PPE in such a short time (in ten days from the purchase) is a true feat. PPE reserves are depleting quickly now. I would like to thank people who are not indifferent and show their active stance,” Deputy Healtchare Minister Boris Androsyuk told journalists.

According to him, FFP2 respirators will greatly improve safety of doctors, nurses, paramedics, and attendants. “We will prevail over this illness by helping each other,” Boris Androsyuk said.

Senior officials of the Belarusian Healthcare Ministry will supervise coronavirus response efforts in certain regions, Chair of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly Natalya Kochanova told reporters before she met with healthcare workers in Vitebsk on 16 April, BelTA has learned.

“This will enable us to better manage the situation and respond promptly to new developments. Healthcare Minister Vladimir Karanik is in charge of Vitebsk Oblast. Naturally, he is responsible for the entire healthcare system of the country. First Deputy Minister Dmitry Pinevich is in charge of Minsk; Deputy Minister Yelena Bogdan will monitor other regions where the situation is better,” Natalya Kochanova said.

On 16 April Natalya Kochanova and Vladimir Karanik met with local healthcare providers in Vitebsk to discuss coronavirus containment efforts in the region.

Around 65,000 people watched productions of Belarus' Yanka Kupala National Academic Theater online in March and April, BelTA learned from the theater.

“Thanks to our projects Kupala Theater Online and Kupala Theater at Home, more than 1,300 people have recently subscribed to our YouTube channel. The views totaled 65,000,” the theater said.

The theater showed nine productions from its current repertoire and the archives. For example, on World Theater Day on 27 March, the Kupala Theater Online project kicked off a live stream of the legendary production Paulinka. It drew about 20,000 people from three continents. The theater also streamed The School for Tax-Payers, Weltmeister Accordion, The Harvest, and other productions. Other events included an online meet-the-artist session with Merited Artist of Belarus Tamara Mironova and a performance dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the theater.

Belarus shapes its history policy objectively, without juxtaposing various periods and peoples, Director of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) Vyacheslav Danilovich said at another meeting of the Expert Community project “History policy: Memory about the war” in the BelTA press center on 15 April.

He emphasized an important feature of Belarus' history policy. “We treat history impartially and look at historical events from the point of view of Belarus and Belarusian people and study the impact of these events on our nation and the state. We are objective. We are not trying to juxtapose one historical period against another, as it is often the case with our Polish, Baltic and Ukrainian counterparts who believe that the Soviet period was absolutely awful and that there was not anything good about it, just oppression and the like,” the scholar said.

“The objective approach allows us to see the valuable things in the Soviet social system. If we talk about the events of the Great Patriotic War, here we also stick to the objective approach. We are trying to show what Belarusians did for the common victory. At the same time, we are not saying that Belarusians should get all the credit. We call it the victory of the Soviet people,” the scholar noted.

“This is a very important aspect of our history policy – we are not trying to contrapose ourselves to anyone else. However, we should not let anyone distort our history. This is our firm stance,” the scientist noted.

Belarus has established a clear-cut system of epidemic prevention measures, Chairman of the Council of the Republic's standing commission on education, science, culture and social development Viktor Liskovich told BelTA.

«Today Belarus has a clear-cut system of epidemic prevention measures. This helps not only to identify infection carriers, but also those who have been in contact with them. The work of all medical units and medical staff has been arranged in the most competent way. The members of the Council of the Republic have been continuously monitoring the pharmacy network for the availability of antiseptics. I want to say that everything is done to ensure that people are protected in the country,» said Viktor Liskovich.

The senator also emphasized personal responsibility of each Belarusian. «In no case should we ignore the recommendations of the Healthcare Ministry,» he stressed. «I would also like to note the information component. In my opinion, today there is enough information in the mass media to get an objective overview of the situation. This helps avoid panic in the society. People understand that such a situation requires not panic but a cool head to address the arising issues.»

Belarus' COVID-19 statistics are reliable and trustworthy.

That was confirmed by the representatives of the World Health Organization who visited Belarus on 8-11 April, Chair of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly Natalya Kochanova told the Belarus 1 TV channel on 12 April, BelTA has learned.

“Nothing is being hidden from citizens of our country. The information that is provided is absolutely reliable and trustworthy. The WHO representatives emphasized it while visiting healthcare facilities,” Natalya Kochanova said.

The WHO experts received information on each person who got sick and the people who were exposed to them. “A lot of work has been done. As of today, more than 65,000 tests have been carried out. The experts were amazed by what they saw,” the speaker noted.

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko is closely monitoring the situation, Natalya Kochanova emphasized. In her words, the head of state analyzes COVID-19 statistics every morning.

The WHO mission arrived in the country at the invitation of President Aleksandr Lukashenko to assess the situation, the measures taken and approaches to medical care in the country. The WHO experts visited the healthcare facilities of Minsk, Minsk Oblast and Vitebsk Oblast.

While delivering a report to the Belarusian head of state on 9 April, Emergencies Minister Vladimir Vashchenko discussed the equipment and gear of rescue workers.

He emphasized later that all the necessary fire-fighting equipment is made in Belarus and is up to par with the world's best products, BelTA has learned.

At the same time, during the report to the president, Vladimir Vashchenko touched upon some issues with the supplies for the aviation. “He [the president] said: submit your proposals, we will help as much as we can,” the minister informed.

The minister called heavy-duty machinery one of the biggest achievements of the ministry's collaboration with the National Academy of Sciences and local manufacturers. This allowed dropping the practice of building water reservoirs. “We deliver these ‘water reservoirs' virtually on the wheels and we can extinguish fires without having to look for sources of water. Building water reservoirs in the country that has more than 10,000 lakes and 20,000 rivers sounds absurd. Building water reservoirs is just pouring money down the drain,” Vladimir Vashchenko said.

In his words, about five years ago the president upheld the initiative to equip fire fighters all over Belarus with such machinery. Thus, at present each district has at least two heavy-duty vehicles that can promptly respond to fire emergencies.

The situation with coronavirus remains manageable in all the regions of Belarus, Healthcare Minister Vladimir Karanik told MPs on 9 April, BelTA has learned.

“The situation across all the regions remains under control. The seriousness of the situation varies depending on a region,” the minister informed.

A delegation of the World Health Organization arrived in Belarus in the evening of 7 April, BelTA learned from the press service of the Healthcare Ministry.

The delegation includes three experts. The mission will work in Belarus from 8 April till 11 April.

The WHO experts will assess the situation and the adequacy of coronavirus containment efforts in Belarus and analyze clinical protocols and approaches to providing medical help. The WHO specialists will inspect healthcare facilities of Minsk, Minsk Oblast and Vitebsk Oblast.

The delegation came to Belarus upon the invitation of the Belarusian head of state.