Short report on COVID−19 situation in Mongolia
2020.05.07
The World Health Organization (WHO) is in its fourth month of officially announcing the outbreak of pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus in the southern neighbor. To date, the new coronavirus, or COVID−19, has infected 212 countries and territories, affecting a total of 3.8 million people, of whom 1.3 million have been recovered and 265,210 have died. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
In the context of infectious disease prevention, Mongolia issued a decision on January 27 to impose a high level of preparedness and quarantine, which is still in force today. The COVID−19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Mongolia when its first case was confirmed in a French male who traveled from Moscow to Dornogovi province of Mongolia on 10 March 2020. The patient, a 57−year−old male, first showed signs of a fever on 7 March. Initial tests confirmed that the patient was positive for coronavirus, and the patient was told to self−isolate in Dornogovi. https://montsame.mn/mn/read/218274
Regardless, the patient ignored the recommendation and broke his isolation. More than 120 people that have had close contact with the patient have been quarantined, and over 500 people with indirect contact are under medical observation. https://montsame.mn/en/read/218344
But, all people have had negative results against COVID−19, because of Head of the virology lab of the National Center of Infectious Disease said that we are already have engrained to wear masks for each people.
The government has announced various measures to control the outbreak. These include the closure of air and land border crossing between China and Mongolia from 27 January until further notice and suspension of all international flights and passenger trains until 31 May. All public events including conferences, sports, and festivals have been canceled across the country, while all educational institutes are to remain closed until end of May. Citizens are prohibited to travel to the countries affected by the outbreak and any travelers from there are subject to a 14−21−day quarantine. Any individuals caught lying about their travel history and health information at the borders stand to be penalized.
In the past, Mongolia has been organizing the recruitment of Mongolians from all over the world who have applied for repatriation, and has performed a total of 11 special chartered flights. As of today, 41 cases have been registered in our country, 100% of which have been imported, and 13 people have been recovered and 28 people are being treated. https://covid19.mohs.mn/p/cat/post/57/ https://montsame.mn/en/read/224725
Decisions related to this infectious disease, quarantine and the impact of external markets have also affected the Mongolian economy, and the government is implementing a MNT 5.1 trillion program. https://ikon.mn/visualdata/xt/1uk1
- More details about COVID−19 from the web site of the Ministry of Health https://covid19.mohs.mn/
- Latest information of COVID−19 in Mongolia https://montsame.mn/en/
Uyangaa Temuujin
School of Veterinary Medicine, Mongolian University of Life Science