Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko held a meeting with Healthcare Minister Vladimir Karanik to discuss the readiness of the national healthcare system for a possible second wave of the pandemic, in view of Belarus' strategy to control the spread of coronavirus, BelTA has learned.
The president noted that there is a lot of talk in the world about the risk of a second wave of the pandemic. “Yes, not everything is so clear, understandable and so on. But if there is the second wave, then our way is the way which all states should have taken,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
In this regard, Vladimir Karanik noted that when analyzing, for example, the strategy chosen by Sweden, experts praise its main advantage, namely that these measures can last indefinitely long.
Let's hope there will be no second wave, but we need to get ready
Talking to the media after the meeting, the minister cited Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, who believes that the second wave is inevitable. The only question is how hard it will be and how much it will affect people's lives.
“Some experts give an example of the SARS virus (which caused atypical pneumonia in 2003), which is very close to COVID-19. It is the same family of coronaviruses. It caused a lot of trouble for Asian countries. In June, however, the incidence began to decline, and almost disappeared and reached an epidemic stalemate in July. There was no second or third waves,” said Vladimir Karanik.
“Therefore, let's hope there will be no second wave. Nevertheless, we need to be ready for it,” the minister said.
