At the government session chaired by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov, the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the country was considered. Minister of Healthcare Azhar Giniyat presented a report on measures to combat coronavirus infection.

According to the minister, the increase in the incidence caused by the circulation and spread of the Omicron variant is noted in all countries of the world. Out of 54 countries, 43 have seen an increase in cases over the past two weeks, according to the WHO European Region. More than 178,000 people have been infected with coronavirus in Kazakhstan since the beginning of the year.

“For the first time in the entire period of the pandemic, the daily registration of cases exceeded 16 thousand, this is due to the high contagiousness and speed of spread of the Omicron variant. Today, the whole country, with the exception of the Turkistan region, is in the red zone,” Giniyat said.

Over the past week, the incidence of coronavirus infection has increased by 1.5 times.

At the same time, mortality from coronavirus infection has decreased.

“Compared to August, when the highest mortality rate for the entire pandemic was recorded daily, the mortality rate decreased by 12.5 times,” Giniyat said.

Since the beginning of January, compared with December, the incidence has increased 11 times. At the same time, an increase in the incidence is observed in all regions. The greatest increase in incidence is observed in Aktobe — 53 times, Mangystau — 34 times, Atyrau — 33 times, Kyzylorda regions — 28 times, in the cities of Nur-Sultan and Shymkent — 25 times.

Mortality in all regions is low.

“The sharp increase in the incidence has also affected the employment of infectious diseases hospitals in the republic. Over the past month, the occupancy of infectious beds has doubled from 18 to 38%,” Giniyat reported.

According to her, the employment of more than 50% of the bed fund is noted in the city of Nur-Sultan, as well as in Akmola, Aktobe, Almaty and Pavlodar regions. More than 50% of intensive care beds are occupied in the city of Nur-Sultan.

“The issue of the employment of the bed fund in the regions is under constant control. When the load on the bed fund is above 70%, additional quarantine measures will be differentially taken in the regions aimed at preventing the registration of high mortality associated with the untimely receipt of medical care by the population for coronavirus infection and other significant diseases,” Giniyat said.

As for vaccination, today more than 9.7 million people have been vaccinated with the first component, more than 9 million people have been vaccinated with the second component. 80.2% of the adult population or 51% of the population of the Republic of Kazakhstan is covered by the first component and 76.4 or 47.3% — by the second component.

In two regions of the country — Mangystau and Kostanay, vaccination coverage is below 60%.

Vaccination coverage by the first component of adolescents, pregnant and lactating women with the Pfizer vaccine amounted to 28.2% of the subject population, the second component — 15%.

At the same time, it should be noted that the rate of vaccination increased from 7,000 in November to 30,000 vaccinated per day in January.

The revaccination of the subject population is actively continuing and the coverage was 37%.

“Despite the positive dynamics of revaccination rates, this work needs to be continued. First of all, it is necessary to revaccinate people over 60 years old, since 126 patients are in critical condition in intensive care units, of which almost 60% are people over 60 years old,” Giniyat noted.

Speaking about the measures taken in the country to combat the coronavirus infection, the minister noted, first of all, the situation in educational institutions.

Due to the difficult epidemiological situation in the country, taking into account international experience:

First, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Education and Science and UNICEF, the format of training in educational organizations has been revised.

Thus, according to the minister, all preschool organizations, primary school students and schools with up to 600 students study in a regular format. In general education institutions with more than 600 students, the enrollment of students for the full-time education format should not exceed 50%, primary school students study full-time. At the same time, when choosing a training format, it is necessary to take into account the level of vaccination coverage.

Universities and colleges also have a differentiated approach: lectures are held online, other classes are held on a flexible schedule.

“At the same time, given the 1.3-fold increase in the incidence of SARS and CVI among children, it should be noted that the sanitary and epidemiological surveillance authorities will continue to monitor the implementation of quarantine measures and, if violations are detected, classes will be transferred online,” said Giniyat.

In this regard, according to the minister, the akimats of the regions, the cities of Almaty, Nur-Sultan and Shymkent need to ensure compliance with sanitary and epidemiological requirements in educational organizations to prevent a sharp increase in the incidence among students.

Second, taking into account the speed of spread and the peculiarities of the course of the coronavirus infection caused by the Omicron variant, the approach to the terms of quarantine and, accordingly, the terms for changing the status in Ashyq have been revised.

Thus, the quarantine period for close contacts and asymptomatic patients has been reduced from 14 to 10 days. At the same time, if there is a negative result of the PCR study on the 7th day, the quarantine ends.

If for some reason the PCR test is not passed on the 7th day, then the quarantine ends on the 10th day without an additional PCR test.

These criteria are reflected in the decrees of the chief state physician on restrictive measures and in the decree defining the rules for working and changing status in Ashyq.

Third, in order to implement the instructions of the Head of State dated Jan. 21, 2022, the following approaches to reduce restrictions for business entities were also considered and approved by the Interdepartmental Commission:

- Further implementation of the Ashyq project at business facilities continued;

- Restrictions on working hours in all zones have been removed, for all facilities that allow visitors with both green and blue status;

- When using only the green status in Ashyq, regardless of the epidemiological zone, solemn, commemorative, sports events, exhibitions, forums can be held without restrictions. The activities of sports complexes, recreational and religious facilities, entertainment facilities, shopping and entertainment centers, retail chains are not limited.

- It is allowed to enter without restrictions if you have a blue status, regardless of the epidemiological zone, to hotels, airports, railway, bus stations, public service centers, branches of Kazpost JSC, banks, catering facilities like canteens, covered markets, educational centers, spa-centers, beauty salons, interregional, intraregional, urban transportation.

For a number of facilities where the entry of visitors with a blue status is allowed:

- Restrictions in the green zone are lifted;

- In the yellow zone — up to 70%, red zones — up to 60% increased occupancy of catering facilities such as restaurants, cultural facilities, gaming and entertainment facilities for adults and children.

“During the entire period of the pandemic, there were no such large-scale relaxations of quarantine measures in all business sectors. And this, in turn, imposes a special responsibility and faith in the commitment of the business to the implementation of the established algorithms for safe work,” said Giniyat.

At the same time, if the risk of overheating the healthcare system and increased mortality from coronavirus infection is identified, additional restrictive measures may be introduced.