Opinions & Interviews

Minister: Belarus’ health system withstood onslaught of COVID-19

MINSK, 17 June (BelTA) – The Belarusian healthcare system has withstood the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, Healthcare Minister Dmitry Pinevich told reporters answering a question of a BelTA journalist as he and other healthcare officials took a tour of the Palace of Independence in the run-up to Medical Worker Day. 

According to the minister, many healthcare professionals will mark this day at their workplace: in hospitals, polyclinics, medical centers, and first aid stations.

“Our professional holiday celebrates the glorious history of the national healthcare system. It is nice that in the run-up to this day many health workers visited the Palace of Independence, including those nominated for government awards. This excursion was a great journey into the history of our independent state,” the minister said.

He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has been dominating the domestic agenda for nearly 1.5 years already. “We are living with this pandemic, and it has a certain impact on our life, on our work,” the minister said.

Dmitry Pinevich shared some statistics: “Even now, when the number of re-purposed hospital beds dropped from 35,000 to 11,000, this is still a lot. Social distancing and vaccination are still relevant. It is also important that COVID-19 should not overshadow other diseases.

He pointed to the importance of new documents aimed at improving the functioning of the healthcare system.

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