According to the Health Ministry of Mongolia, a person who arrived in Ulaanbaatar on the evacuation plane from Berlin on March 16 tested positive for coronavirus on March 18.
On Tuesday, another 30-year-old woman who flew in on the same evacuation flight from Berlin was tested positive for the virus while under quarantine. She reportedly came from Italy via Germany on March 16.
On March 16, the Health Ministry reported two people aboard the evacuation flight from Seoul and one person from France via Berlin were diagnosed with COVID-19 while under quarantine. All of the coronavirus patients were evacuated from countries affected by the virus through the government's resolution to evacuate Mongolian nationals from high-risk countries.
Before the evacuations, there were no registered cases of COVID-19 except a French national who tested positive on March 10 shortly after arriving from France, marking the first case in the country. All patients are being quarantined at the National Center for Infectious Disease.
Medical professionals are currently monitoring and testing all evacuees and those who had contact with them.
Besides the capital city, one suspected case was registered in Govi-Altai Province and four suspected cases in Selenge Province, who were all quarantined.
The government of Mongolia has been evacuating Mongolian nationals from foreign countries, including South Korea, Japan, and Germany, and canceled all flights and passenger trains in and out of the country until March 28.
On March 18, a MIAT plane departed to Istanbul, Turkey, carrying 102 passengers who needed to exit the country. All people on board, including the passengers and aircraft workers, specialists and doctors have been isolated for two weeks in accordance with regulations by the State Emergency Commission.
The Ministry of Health reported that one child who arrived from the USA is not feeling well, but the symptoms are different from the coronavirus. He returned after receiving medical treatment in the USA.
Mongolia is allowing Mongolian nationals living and studying in Russia to return home only through border checkpoints with Russia. The number of people crossing the border is expected to rise in the coming days. Evacuation facilities are being prepared in Darkhan-Uul and Selenge provinces.
Health Ministry proposes to extend school closure
The government has shut down schools, kindergartens, and universities, and banned all public events until March 30 as prevention against the coronavirus in Mongolia. In connection with six confirmed coronavirus cases in Mongolia, the Health Ministry proposed to extend the time of school closure until April 30. The State Emergency Commission will decide the matter today.
TV lessons launched for students and online lessons are being organized for university students. Head of the Department of General Education Policy of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sports T.Nyam-Ochir said that if school closure is extended until April 30, school break will not be started in June and lessons continue through summer break. “The extension might change the schedule of the general education exam,” he said.
252 evacuated
On March 19, an Istanbul-Ulaanbaatar flight landed at the Chinggis Khaan International Airport today at 1:22 a.m. evacuating 252 citizens back to their home country. MIAT Mongolian Airlines reported that supplies for mask production, medical equipment, and medicine, were transported on the flight. Officials highlighted that none of the passengers had fever or other signs. nOfficials of the Ministry of Roads and Transport Development, National Center for Infectious Diseases, National Emergency Management Agency, and General Agency for Authorized Inspection are working to isolate the evacuees for 14 days.
As of now, a total of 983 Mongolian citizens have arrived in the country, including the citizens that have traveled on the flight from Istanbul.
Nomin Trade Tav LLC charged by 20 million MNT
On March 16, Nomin Trade Tav LLC at the State Department Store charged by 20 million MNT for raising meat prices. Specifically, they increased mutton prices by 1,000 to 1,500 MNT per kilogram, and beef by 2,000 to 3,500 MNT.
Many people complained that the price of food products has been increasing. The Authority for Fair Competition and Consumer Protection reported that the government is working to monitor and inspect artificial price hikes. A state task force detected increased meat prices and charged the relevant organizations.
Mongolia receives 3,200 coronavirus test kits
The Ministry of Health reported that a total of 3200 coronavirus test kits were brought from Japan. Each kit costs less than one USD, according to the Health Ministry. There is a need to acquire more test kits from Japan, and the Mongolian Embassy in Japan is working to procure more from Japan.
During the meeting, officials from the Ministry of Roads and Transport Development reported that 16,240 employees of this sector are working at the border.
Moreover, inspection officers, traffic regulators, medical officers, service employees and airport and airline employees in the roads and transport field are working under the readiness across the nation.
Supporting prevention against coronavirus
Numerous voluntary donation campaigns by citizens, celebrities, and companies have emerged in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Young rappers Roockie , 168, Pacrap, Don dior , Wolfizm and Loce uploaded their new joint video “Nadad khamaagui” on Youtube on March 9 for a donation for coronavirus prevention, with each view is valued at three MNT. Since the release of the video, it has reached 222,447 views, raising over one million MNT. The donation was handed over to the National Emergency Management Agency on March 18.
China shares experience in fighting coronavirus
The Ministry of Health organized an online meeting in collaboration with the National Health Commission of China, sharing experience on diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 infection.
At the beginning of the meeting, Minister D.Sarangerel provided information on Mongolia measures being taken against the outbreak of COVID-19 infection and their progress.
During the meeting, officials of the Chinese side delivered a presentation under the topic “Diagnosis and treatment of coronavirus infection”.
Minister of Health D.Sarangerel, specialists of the relevant authorities and departments of the Ministry of Health, epidemiological and clinical teams of China and the Peking University took part in the online meeting.
The standard for masks adopted
The general requirement of cloth mask - MNS 6828: 2020 standard has been adopted by the order of the Head of the Mongolian Agency for Standardization and Metrology on March 13, 2020.
The standard includes requirements for quality examination, confirmation, labeling, packaging, restoration and transportation of masks. The standard allows national producers to manufactured cloth masks to protect the health of the people and prevent the spread of infections.
Due to the quick spread of the coronavirus, the world is facing a shortage of masks due to high demand. The vast majority of masks on the market in Mongolia are imported. Due to rising demand supplies needed to produce masks are also seeing shortages.
Officials of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, Mongolian Agency for Standardization and Metrology, National Center for Infectious Disease and Mongolian University of Science and Technology worked on the development and adoption of the standard.
Mass disinfection in progress
Ulaanbaatar Mayor S.Amarsaikhan issued an order to disinfect public places to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus on March 17.
Some 38 companies, including the maintenance and facility services company of Ulaanbaatar, started disinfecting public areas in the city. Starting with Sukhbaatar Square, a total of 180.8 kilometers of paved roads and 9.2 million square meters of public areas, streets, outdoor surfaces and bus stops will be disinfected and sterilized this week.
Ulaanbaatar Mayor S.Amarsaikhan highlighted that with the start of the spring season, there is a high risk of spreading germs and bacteria, so sanitization and disinfection are really required.
“Professional organizations have to be very responsible,” he noted.
In addition, 10 waste services organizations and funeral charities jointly handed over 10 pieces of disinfection equipment, 1,000 masks, and 100 disposable protective clothing to the Ulaanbaatar Mayor’s Office on March 17 to support the public disinfection.
No confirmed cases in China for the first time since the epidemic
Mainland China has reported zero new domestic infections of coronavirus for the first time since the outbreak began.
The National Health Commission said it was also the first time Hubei province – where the disease first emerged – recorded no new cases either domestically or from abroad. Nationwide, there were 34 new infections, all of them from overseas.
The number of new deaths was down to single digits, with just eight reported, bringing the total death toll to 3,245. The commission said 23 new suspected cases had been reported, with the total number of infections now standing at 80,928. A total of 70,420 patients have recovered.
The commission has been releasing daily infection figures in Hubei since January 10, and nationwide data since January 20. Elsewhere, infections from what is now a global pandemic continue to rise. Italy reported 3,526 new cases overnight, Germany 4,070 and Spain 4,719. The US also reported 1,875 new cases.
