In early October, Kyrgyzstan was overtaken by mass disorders caused by the results of the parliamentary election. They continued until October 10. The situation in the country is stabilising gradually, but not in terms of Covid-19 cases.
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Vice versa, the republic is now facing the consequences of mass gatherings of people. The average daily case rate in Kyrgyzstan, six days after the incubation period, has increased by more than 40 per cent.
Protests took place in several towns, but the main gathering of people was in the capital and Osh. Moreover, there were not only locals, but also visitors from Issyk Kul region in Bishkek.
It backfired on us. The daily average case rate in Bishkek, six days after October 5 (the incubation period of coronavirus, according to WHO), has increased by 42.85 per cent, in Issyk Kul region — by 77.8 per cent, in Osh and Osh region — by 137 и 47.99 per cent, respectively.
As a matter of fact, it’s not a secret that mass gatherings of citizens have had negative impact on the increase in cases. At the briefing on October 26, health minister Alymkadyr Beishenaliev said openly about it.
“Recent political events in our country, when people did not observe sanitary rules, have their impact on the increase in cases,” he emphasised.
According to Aibar Sultangaziev, director of Partnerskaya Set Association, the promotion campaign and the protests that followed the election contributed to the epidemic in the regions.
“Imagine that 5 thousand people came from the regions to take part in protests. A part of them has undoubtedly caught the infection. As they are young, they will have milder cases, but they will spread the disease among their relatives – parents they live with, other family members,” Sultangaziev said.
According to him, the current growth in Covid-19 cases in the regions is caused by promotion campaign in the pre-election period. Protest-related waves will follow.
“Additional, more steady waves of disease are caused by mass events such as weddings, celebrations, funeral feasts. The waves will be combined and we’ll see a July-like tsunami in mid-November, i.e. the collapse of the public health system, lack of beds in hospitals, shortage of medication and oxygen concentrators,” the expert said.
In 24 days of October (October 4 thru 28), there were more than 10 thousand Covid-19 cases in Kyrgyzstan. In the same period, 5 thousand 359 people recovered from the disease.
The average statistics for October shows that Kyrgyzstan has one recovered patient per two new Covid-19 cases. Given the above, it’s high time to introduce repeated lockdown measures in the country, but the authorities take it slow.