Mikhail Vishnevetsky, Head of the Main Department for Healthcare of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, characterised the current COVID-19 morbidity situation in the region as follows:

Mikhail Vishnevetsky, Head of the Main Department for Healthcare of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, characterised the current COVID-19 morbidity situation in the region as follows:

-- Over the past two weeks, we have observed a steady decline. The burden on the paediatric service has decreased threefold compared to the peak, and the morbidity among the adult population is 30 percent lower week by week. The workload on weekend appointments is not what it was two weeks ago. Nevertheless, the outpatient and polyclinic sector continues to operate on a seven-day basis, and contact teams also visit patients at home.

According to specialists, three-quarters of the morbidity in the region is attributed to the Omicron strain, which is characterised by high contagiousness but less severe disease progression. The Delta strain of coronavirus circulates concurrently, which in some cases requires hospitalisation for pneumonia treatment.

The number of beds repurposed for COVID-19 treatment in the Vitebsk region remains unchanged. According to the head of the regional healthcare department, there are currently 2020 beds, including 1180 in Vitebsk. The provision of planned care has not been interrupted. The Vitebsk City Emergency Hospital, the Regional Pulmonology and Phthisiology Centre, the Regional Infectious Diseases Hospital, the Regional Maternity Hospital, and the urology ward of the Regional Clinical Hospital are operating entirely as infectious disease hospitals. Inter-district centres and infectious disease departments of several Central District Hospitals provide care in the region. Five district hospitals are operating as usual.

As Mikhail Vishnevetsky noted, medical professionals expect the coronavirus infection morbidity to stabilise within two to three weeks.