BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 2
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Askar Mamin has ordered to increase production of face masks and other protective equipment in Kazakhstan amid the coronavirus outbreak, Trend reports with reference to the press office of the prime minister.
The order was given during the government session chaired by Mamin, during which measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection in Kazakhstan were discussed.
“The Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development should restrict regular flights to countries where coronavirus is actively spreading,” Mamin said.
Mamin also added that local akimats (administrative centers) and the Ministry of Labor should suspend issuance of permits to attract foreign labor from countries with unfavorable levels of coronavirus infection.
Starting from March 1, 2020, the list of countries to which citizens of which quarantine measures are applied upon their arrival to Kazakhstan has been expanded.
In order to take comprehensive measures to protect the health of citizens, the government has also developed an Algorithm of actions for the detection and spread prevention of coronavirus in Kazakhstan (Plan B).
Thus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been instructed to submit proposals to postpone major international events previously planned in the country, to suspend the issuance of transit, electronic, tourist visas to citizens of countries with an unfavorable situation with coronavirus infection.
The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019. The number of people killed by the disease has surpassed 3,000. Over 89,000 people have been confirmed as infected.
Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019. The symptoms include cough, headache, fatigue, fever, aching and difficulty breathing. It is primarily spread through airborne contact or contact with contaminated objects.
Chinese health authorities say that the majority of the people who have died were either elderly or had underlying health problems.
Aside from Mainland China, the cases of coronavirus spreading have also been confirmed in at least 65 countries.