Kazakhstan may toughen quarantine due to India’s COVID-19 strain

NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM «The Kazakh capital and other regions may stiffen quarantine measures as the new India’s COVID-19 strain is detected,» Deputy Prime Minister Yeraly Tugzhanov said.

«The country’s sanitary and epidemiological situation is stable. For the past month the morbidity rate dropped by 1.7 times. Though there are new variants of coronavirus spreading the worldwide,» he noted addressing the Government meeting.

He stressed that all the regions should take epidemiological situation under control as the new strain is circulating in Nur-Sultan. The Intergovernmental Commission for preventing COVID-19 spread in Kazakhstan will meet and debate measures on toughening sanitary and epidemiological rules in Nur-Sultan and other regions. He emphasized that wearing of masks and social distancing rules should remain mandatory at places of public gathering.

The Minister earlier stressed the need to provide necessary ward stocks, reserve beds and other medical devices in the regions as India’s COVID-19 strain was detected circulating in Nur-Sultan. It is 60% more transmissible than other strains and more lethal. The strain has been already detected in 74 countries around the world.