A lockdown will be introduced in Almaty if 300 patients with Covid-19 are hospitalized per day.

A lockdown will be introduced in Almaty if 300 patients with Covid-19 are hospitalized per day.

Lockdown assumes a complete suspension of the activities of public catering facilities, shopping and entertainment centers, the termination of contacts among the population.

If 300 patients with Covid-19 are hospitalized daily in Almaty, a lockdown will be announced in the city, said the chief sanitary doctor of the metropolis Zhandarbek Bekshin.

According to him, the tightening of quarantine restrictions in the city has shown its effectiveness, so restrictive measures must be maintained.

" We need to keep proceeding our restrictive measures, because it cannot continue like this. We currently have 3,400 beds, the load of which does not exceed 40%. And at the same time, we had 7,000 reserve beds, but, as they say, reserves may also be exhausted." - said Bekshin.

He explained that if 500 new cases of coronavirus infection are registered in Almaty every day, then all beds will be occupied until the end of one incubation period.

“Even if there are 300 hospitalizations a day, then, of course, the city will be closed for lockdown. Our task is to prevent this, now it's not too late, "- said the chief medical officer.

According to him, the lockdown provides for the complete suspension of the activities of public catering facilities, shopping and entertainment centers, services, the cessation of traffic and contacts among the population. Full transfer of schoolchildren and students to distance learning is possible. Upon reaching the threshold of 300 hospitalizations per day, an internal lockdown will be announced, when the movement of the population is not prohibited, 500 hospitalizations - the city will be closed completely.

Zhandarbek Bekshin added that now it is necessary to discuss with public organizations, business representatives what measures should be taken to stabilize the epidemic situation in the city and exit the "red" alarm zone.

The chief sanitary doctor of Almaty also answered the question about the detection of cases of infection with new strains of coronavirus in the country.

"So far there are no other strains in Kazakhstan. In my opinion, nearly in two weeks we will be able to say something if there are new strains," Bekshin said.