According to the Health Ministry, two people recovered from COVID-19 infection and discharge them from the National Center for Infectious Disease on March 31. They have tested negative for the COVID-19 virus in five tests carried out in the last three days. The two recovered patients will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
During the press conference on March 31, Head of the National Center for Infectious Disease D.Nyamkhuu said, “Seven suspected cases who were quarantined on March 30 and 12 people who suffered lung fever tested negative for the coronavirus. 218 people are under doctors’ supervision. Many people provided support, which is 50 percent of treatment. So, please don’t slander each other.”
Some 42 Mongolian peacekeepers returned from Qatar on March 31 and their test results will be released on April 1.
Mongolia registered 12 coronavirus infection cases, 11 of them are Mongolian nationals who were evacuated from foreign countries, and one is a French national who arrived in early March. As of now, there are 10 active cases in Mongolia and all are being treated at the National Center for Infectious Disease.
Restrictions will be extended, mayor warns
Ulaanbaatar Mayor S.Amarsaikhan gave a briefing through “City news” Facebook page on March 30, highlighting that restrictions in the city will be extended until April 30. More specifically, implementation of the mayor’s Order No. A / 223 on health protection and Order No. A / 268 on reduction of working hours for mothers with children under two years of age are effective through April 30. In other words, all public activities including bars, karaoke, saunas and fitness clubs are banned until April 30. Families are allowed to walk in the mountains and go out into the fresh air, but citizens are not allowed to gather in large numbers, go near each other, pollute the environment, and throw garbage and saliva in the open.
“As the spread of the coronavirus has not slowed down, there is a high risk of re-emergence in Asian countries. Mongolia has decided to extend measures against the spread,” he highlighted.
City inspections found 382 homeless people and 144 of them met their families and others stayed at the Special Center for Social Welfare, which operates under the Ulaanbaatar Mayor’s Office. These people are undergoing daily medical examinations and training.
“The world is experiencing and suffering from a deadly new virus. This virus should not be ignored in Mongolia, and the advice of health authorities should be strictly followed. I urge residents to follow and understand all decisions and restrictions, because this issue is connected with the health of city residents. As it becomes warmer, environment pollution increases in Mongolia. Also, migratory birds, which might be transmitting viruses, are coming. So don’t go out with your children and raise awareness,” S.Amarsaikhan noted.
189 Korean nationals evacuated from Mongolia
South Korea evacuated 189 nationals from Mongolian on March 30, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Over 300 people were evacuated to South Korea, including 111 Mongolian nationals. Of these Mongolians, 73 were permanent residents and married to Korean nationals, and 38 of them are Mongolian students studying in South Korea. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many countries are evacuating their citizens. Mongolian evacuated its nationals from Japan, South Korea, Russia, Germany and others last month and is planning to evacuate more people again.
Some 320 Mongolian nationals applied to go to South Korea, 250 of whom will leave on a special flight on April 2. The others will fly out to South Korea on April 4. They will pay all costs for quarantine, worth three million MNT, in South Korea. Foreigners who violate the law and decision of the government will be forced into deportation.
Mongolia is planning to evacuate 751 nationals from Tokyo and Seoul between April 2 and 4.
Schedule of evacuation flights:
Aircraft at 8:00 a.m. on April 2 to Seoul, South Korea
Aircraft at 8:00 a.m. on April 3 to Tokyo, Japan
Aircraft at 8:00 a.m. on April 4 to Seoul, South Korea
On March 15, 244 people were repatriated on a special flight from Seoul to Ulaanbaatar.
On March 16, 231 Mongolians arrived on a Berlin-Moscow-Ulaanbaatar flight. On the same day, a Tokyo-Ulaanbaatar flight brought in 257 citizens from Japan. On the night of March 18, 252 people arrived on a flight from Istanbul to Ulaanbaatar.
190 million square meters disinfected
As part of the prevention against coronavirus infection, disinfection has been carried in the capital city. As of today, 190 million square meters of area were disinfected in Ulaanbaatar. Some1,346 bars and clubs (double counting) , 2,044 PC games centers, 240 campuses, 360 entertainment venues, 365 sports facilities, 299 driving courses, 102 playgrounds and other public areas were disinfected. Some 38 companies started disinfecting public areas in the city. They use three types of substances for disinfection, and the second stage of disinfection started on March 30. Outhouses of 220,000 ger area families will be disinfected by May 1.
“Citizens and businesses need to disinfect their surrounding areas themselves. The Ulaanbaatar Mayor’s Office can’t do everything. Mass disinfection like this has never been done in Ulaanbaatar before. Therefore, large-scaled disinfection will be carried out every year, especially in spring in the future,” said the Ulaanbaatar mayor.
In addition, over 2,500 social workers of 160 khoroos in the city will patrol streets to prevent violations starting April 1.
Supporting prevention of coronavirus
Numerous voluntary donation campaigns by citizens, celebrities, and companies have emerged in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
School No. 58 handed over 3.4 million MNT in donations to the Sukhbaatar Emergency Commission on March 30.
Also, the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saint prepared 5,000 pieces of sterilization packages and handed 4,000 of them to the Ministry of Health on Monday. They said that the rest of the packages will be sent to orphans through UNICEF. The church also donated 100 handmade blankets to the Ministry of Health. 10,000 medical masks have been transported from the United States and will be donated to the Ministry of Health and medical organizations upon arrival.
Imports undergoing disinfection
During the press briefing of the State Emergency Commission on March 30, Deputy Head of the General Professional Inspection Agency G.Sugarbat said that Mongolia has been paying special attention to safe and uninterrupted imports and transportation of food and other products.
Trucks and trains are transporting food products from abroad and all of the packages are being disinfected. A total of 183 drivers entered the country with vehicles carrying 848 tons of food and 435 tons of non-food products and border officials are carefully carrying out disinfection on all of them. According to the decision of the State Emergency Commission, truck drivers coming from abroad are required to strictly follow guidelines and their delivery time has been shortened.
Mongolian border checkpoints are only allowing drivers with personal protective equipment.
Brief
Head of Medical Aid Department of Health Ministry Ya.Buyanjargal:
As of today, 2,310 people have been isolated. Two recovered patients were transferred to a supervision center for observation. Medical care is continuing normally. Health organizations are providing advice on how to use protective clothing. Regular online communication with doctors and medical professionals are continuing normally. There are 43 pregnant women, 56 children under the age of five, and seven people with injuries in the isolation center. We are providing special help for these people. Some quarantined people demanded more delicious food, bigger rooms or different facilities. Some said that they want to stay at the Urguu Maternity Hospital, not at the National Center for Infectious Disease. They tossed bread with fruit jam in front of the doctor, cried that they cannot eat mushroom noodles, and fought with each other. People have to understand that COVID-19 is pandemic. Few countries isolate citizens in five-star hotels. Few countries evacuate their citizens from abroad. No other countries’ doctors take trays of food to patients. Citizens must be responsible. If you are isolated, follow the rules. If you have made a decision and are coming by plane here, understand your responsibility.
There are 337 medical staff working at the isolation faculty for infected and suspected patients.
Head of Surveillance and Operational Management Division of the Health Ministry D.Narangerel:
Around the world, wearing masks, keeping distance, establishing partial quarantines, and conducting educational activities online have become important ways to prevent infection. There is a shortage of doctors internationally. Many health workers around the world are working on their own initiative. We urge our citizens to follow the recommendations of health organizations. Disposable masks should be replaced every two hours and discarded in plastic bags. The World Health Organization and other organizations are urging people to wear disposable masks, but it is recommended that they wear cotton masks due to shortage of disposable masks. In the United States, medical staff are facing a shortage of medical masks. However, the technology of recycling and production of disposable masks has not been introduced yet.
The disease has been registered in 202 countries around the world. The first case was registered in Irkutsk, Russia. The risk is higher in the United States, Spain, Italy, Iran and Switzerland. In the United States, prisoners are more likely to get sick. Therefore, people are ordered to communicate from a distance and not to attend meetings. It is important for an isolated person to be mentally and physically healthy. Healthy eating, avoiding alcohol, abstinence from sugary drinks, smoking cessation, active exercise, and mental health are important.
Head of Foreign Relations and Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs N.Yanjmaa said:
The peak infection rate in the United States is yet to come, but it is expected to intensify next week and the death toll might reach 100,000. Communication from a distance and restriction of public gathering is measured there. The number of new infected people in Germany reached 4,000 per day. In Japan, 48,000 people have been tested and more than 1,700 cases of infection have been detected, and the number is growing. So far, 55 people have died in Japan from the infection.
