Volozhin Region
Executive Committee

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.

The Belarusian national air carrier Belavia has extended the suspension of air travel to Tallinn until 31 December 2021, BelTA learned from the website of the airline.

Belavia will not fly to Larnaca till 14 December. The flights to Ashgabat will not be available until 1 January, to Riga – until 31 January 2021. Belavia will not operate flights to Budapest and Almaty till 27 March 2021.

The flights to all destinations in Russia (apart from Moscow's Domodedovo) are suspended until 24 December, as there is no permission yet from the Russian government.

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 situation with coronavirus in Belarus is not easy, but it is under control, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the meeting of the Vitebsk Oblast coronavirus response team on 4 December, BelTA informs.

“The situation in the world is very stressful, to say the least. And the situation is not easy in Belarus either. We often say that the situation is not easy but under control,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

According to the president, he came to Vitebsk to see the real state of affairs in the healthcare industry at the local level. “People's treatment in general and coronavirus treatment in particular,” the head of state explained.

On local experience

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, the wave of coronavirus started in Belarus from Vitebsk Oblast at the beginning of 2020. “The region has accumulated huge experience in the treatment of people,” the head of state said. For example, a decision to separate COVID-19 positive mothers from their healthy children until mothers recover was made at the Vitebsk Oblast maternity hospital during the first wave of coronavirus. This measure was taken to prevent the infection of children. Although the WHO recommends not to separate mothers from children in spite of the potential infection risk.

“We have accumulated our own experience of fighting against this evil,” the president said. “We have learned to treat people.”

Availability of equipment

According to the head of state, the next aspect is the availability of equipment. The availability of ventilators is being monitored. About of 500 ventilators from the total number of 2,500 are now used in Belarus. “We have enough ventilators. We will do our best to avoid the deficit of ventilators,” the Belarusian leader said.

Operation of regional response teams

Taking into account the experience from the first wave of coronavirus, regional coronavirus response teams proved effective. Therefore, a decision was made to resume their work. They should focus on the organization of treatment, the supply of PPE and medications. “When we have an opportunity to mobilize all tools and resources for the resolution of a certain issue, then we have the result. Who can organize it in Vitebsk Oblast? Of course, the governor and his administration can. Today he is in charge of these issues, especially of people's treatment, because the lives of our people are the priority,” the president said.

According to the president, the situation in Vitebsk Oblast is not disturbing. “The situation in the region is not critical, and should not be critical,” the Belarusian leader stressed. “Is Vitebsk Oblast in need of anything: doctors, personal protection equipment, other things? Tell us. In this room we will make any decision, even an impossible one. We want to work and will implement any decision.”

Reassuring statistics

The president mentioned a positive trend: the number of discharged patients is higher than the number of new hospitalizations with COVID-19. “Why is it reassuring? It means that our hospitals will not be overloaded, beds are available. Before that, the number of hospitalizations exceeded the number of discharged patients,” the head of state said.

However, according to the president, some critics say that patients are discharged too early. “Absolute nonsense! Doctors will never prescribe outpatient or recuperation treatment if they don't see any sustainable recovery dynamics,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. Moreover, some hospitals take additional precautions and prefer to observe patients for a few more days to make sure that everything is fine.

Apart from that, the head of state cited current statistics on coronavirus pneumonias. As of today, there are 21,500 patients with this disease. 519 patients are on ventilators. The total number of ventilators is 2,500. The president added that we should not pander to certain “professional” communities and focus on figures. Certain figures depend on the number of tests. The more tests are made, the more positive results exist. In his words, it is more important to provide comprehensive medical aid to patients and use all available resources to continue treatment.

Belarus registered 1,796 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours; another 1,310 coronavirus patients were discharged from hospital, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Healthcare Ministry.

The nationwide COVID-19 tally has reached 148,953 cases. A total of 126,084 patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered in Belarus.

As many as 1,215 COVID-19 patients suffering from a number of chronic diseases have died since the infection's outbreak in Belarus.

Belarus performed 3,449,089 tests, 18,574 – in the past 24 hours.

The Belarusian national air carrier Belavia has extended the suspension of air travel to Riga until 31 January 2021, BelTA learned from the website of the airline.

Belavia will fly to Tallinn and Larnaca till 14 December. The flights to Ashgabat will not be available till 1 January 2021. Belavia will not operate flights to Budapest and Almaty till 27 March 2021.

The flights to all destinations in Russia (apart from Moscow's Domodedovo) are suspended until 24 December as there is no permission yet from the Russian government.

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 states should join efforts against pressure and outside interference, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council on 2 December, BelTA informs.

“Color revolutions which have been going on in a number of countries are not color revolutions at all. We can see it on Belarus' example,” the president said. “A revolution happens when there is a reason for a revolution (we have studied it), when the masses don't want anything, when the leaders can't do anything and so on, and when there are revolutionaries. Neither you nor us have revolutionaries today. All the so-called revolutionaries want to live well and, preferably, at somebody else's expense. When you start using their language to talk to them, the so-called revolutionaries quickly turn into exiled politicians. Therefore, they have never had any good intentions.”

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, outside interference has been a reason for the escalation of the situation in Belarus. “The case is that, I am quoting here, ‘the Belarusian lands historically belonged to Poland'. This is being said in an open regime. Can I, as president, and the Belarusian people agree with that? They say that the place where we are living in does not belong to us. It is clear to whom they belong. And they are acting accordingly,” the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said that the NATO is setting up a military group for the penetration of western Belarusian lands. “Tell me, how we should respond to that,” he said.

Apart from that, the president recalled old plans of western countries to create a sanitary belt between the EU and Russia. “These are the goals that they failed to achieve after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in the mid-1990s. The president of Russia and I understand it very well. The events in Belarus (they are openly saying that) are a trampoline for putting pressure on the Russian Federation,” the head of state stressed. “I want to say in a friendly way: if someone thinks that Belarus is far away…Some time ago we were not thinking about it either. Even the events in Ukraine – we were thinking that it was going on somewhere else. Before you know it, something like that will happen in your countries.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko is convinced that the CSTO countries should join efforts against external threats using the Belarusian experience among other things. “Everybody have said that, now we need to be together more than ever,” he said.

According to the president, economic cooperation is the foundation of unity. “If we work together in the economy, and it was our goal in the Eurasian Economic Union, we will survive. If we don't, they will swallow us,” the Belarusian leader concluded.

On December 1, Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree on awarding honorary titles and an order on announcing the President's Gratitude to representatives of various fields of activity, including specialists from Minsk region.

By Decree No. 452 of December 1, 2020, the President ordered for fruitful work, high professionalism, exemplary performance of official duties, significant personal contribution to ensuring the rule of law, strengthening law and order, preventing and responding to emergencies, providing highly qualified medical care and introducing new medical technologies, merits in the development of the processing industry, agriculture, the road industry, education, science, culture and art to confer the honorary title of Honored Worker of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Belarus Sergey Konstantinovich Khmaruk, Prosecutor of the Minsk Region, State Counselor of Justice of the 3rd class.

The President's gratitude for fruitful work, high professionalism, active participation in social and political life was announced:

Yulia Askerko, the head of the main department of organizational and personnel work of Minsk Regional Executive Committee;

Alexander Ilyasevich, head of the main department of ideological work, culture and youth affairs of Minsk Regional Executive Committee;

Andrey Zhaylovich, chairman of the Soligorsk regional executive committee;

Anastasia Kopikova, Deputy Chairman of Borisov District Executive Committee;

Larisa Korshun, Director - Chief Editor of Minsk Regional Unitary Enterprise “Editorial Office of the newspaper “Minskaya Pravda””;

Alesya Lukovskaya, Deputy Chairman of Molodechno Regional Executive Committee;

Angela Raemskoy, Deputy Chairman of Logoisk District Executive Committee;

Natalya Chernushevich, Deputy Chairman of Slutsk Regional Executive Committee;

Natalya Chernyshova, Deputy Chairman of the Pukhovichi District Executive Committee.

Vladimir Shmakov, director of the Borisov State Polytechnic College (branch of BNTU) - Gratitude was announced for fruitful pedagogical activity, high professionalism, significant personal contribution to the training of highly qualified specialists.

Dmitry Semibratov, senior inspector of the road patrol service of the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Slutsk District Executive Committee, was awarded the President's Commendation for decisive and skillful actions to save human life.