An expert Yevgeny Kudryats does not believe in the victory announced by the President of Tajikistan.
The fight against the coronavirus pandemic has become the greatest challenge for the authorities of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan over the past 10 months. Each republic has its own resources, managers, approach and results. An independent expert Yevgeny Kudryats conducted a situational analysis of each of the four republics for the readers of CentralAsia.news.
Suppressing the facts in Kazakhstan
As of January 26, 2021, 179,720 coronavirus cases have been reported in Kazakhstan. The number of people infected with the coronavirus rose to 1,266 on the previous day. In Kazakhstan, the coronavirus deaths have totalled 2,403. As of January 26, the total recovery tally stands at 161,758 across the country. The expert provides the statistics.
Infectious disease doctors in Nur-Sultan called on citizens to comply with hygiene and epidemiological regulations. Given an increased number of coronavirus patients admitted to hospitals, health workers urge citizens not to ignore COVID-19 preventive measures and comply with the quarantine rules.
President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev spoke about the regions that had hidden coronavirus statistics in pursuit of ratings. The President said that local officials were concealing reliable information in fear of punishment. “The funds were dissipated, and all efforts were hamstrung,” Kudryats quoted the President.
“This clearly shows that Kazakhstan is facing the problem caused by attempts to cover up the true state of affairs and coronavirus statistics by embellishing and downplaying the number of deaths,” the interlocutor concluded.
Kyrgyzstan relies on a Russian vaccine
As of January 26, 2021, 84,068 coronavirus cases have been reported in Kyrgyzstan. The death toll from COVID-19 rose to 1,402.
As of January 26, 80,182 people have recovered from coronavirus in the Republic.
Through cooperation within the EAEU, Bishkek and Moscow have begun negotiations on the localized production of the Russian coronavirus vaccine in Kyrgyzstan. Kudryats quoted Chairman of the State Committee for Industry, Energy and Subsoil Use of the Republic Zhyrgalbek Sagynbaev who had emphasised that Russia was ready to help the Republic expand coronavirus vaccine production. To do this, Kyrgyzstan must select a company that has technical capacities to manufacture vaccines. The Kyrgyzstan authorities have launched a dialogue with specialized firms.
According to Sagynbayev, the preparatory work would be completed in the first quarter of 2021, the interlocutor added.
Uzbekistan to lift restrictions
As of January 26, 2021, 78,471 coronavirus cases have been reported in Uzbekistan. The death toll from COVID-19 rose to 621. 938 coronavirus patients are in the active phase, of which 158 are in critical condition. As of January 26, 76, 912 people have recovered in the Republic. The expert provides the statistics.
On January 28, Uzbekistan will lift the restrictions placed recently on entertainment venues and food services establishments. The decision was adopted by the Special Republican Commission.
According to Kudryats, this is related to the epidemiological situation. However, citizens need to comply with hygiene and epidemiological regulation, which will prevent the spread of infection and enhance personal responsibility for maintaining the current situation to ensure epidemiological stability in the country.
Dubious victory in Tajikistan
As of January 26, 2021, 13,308 coronavirus cases have been reported in Tajikistan. The COVID-19 death toll stands at 90. There are no coronavirus patients in the active phase. The interlocutor provides the impressive statistics.
Recently, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon has announced a complete victory over coronavirus disease in the Republic. He said that there were no coronavirus patients in the country, and the causative agent of the disease had been “completely eradicated”. However, the leader of Tajikistan urged citizens to comply with hygiene regulations, in particular, when visiting mosques.
“Such a bold and populist statement raises doubts, as much as the data on COVID-19 deaths. I consider Rahmon’s statement to be an exaggeration, since the pandemic continues evolving around the world, and Tajikistan cannot be the exception. I would like to remind that Alexander Lukashenko denied the infection not so long ago,” Kudryats said.
“According to the statistics, there are much fewer coronavirus cases in Tajikistan than in the other three republics, but how much trust we can put in these figures is the big question,” the expert summed up.
