3 Kazakh megapolises restricted over coronavirus pandemic

Government • 26 March, 2020

3 Kazakh megapolises restricted over coronavirus pandemic

State Commission on Ensuring the State of Emergency under President of Kazakhstan strengthens restrictions in Nur-Sultan, Almaty and Shymkent, primeminister.kz reports.

Egemen Qazaqstan

Prime Minister Askar Mamin chaired a selector meeting of the State Commission on Ensuring the State of Emergency under the President of Kazakhstan.

Minister of Healthcare Yelzhan Birtanov reported on the sanitary-epidemiological situation in the country, Minister of Justice Marat Beketayev and Attorney General Gizat Nurdauletov spoke about toughening the responsibility for violating restrictive measures, akims of the capital Altai Kulginov, Almaty – Bakytzhan Sagintayev, Shymkent – Murat Aytenov told about the situation in the main cities, Minister of Trade and Integration Bakhyt Sultanov, Minister of Agriculture Saparkhan Omarov and others public authorities reported on food security and pricing for socially significant food products.

The State Commission approved the decision to strengthen the quarantine regime in the cities of Nur-Sultan and Almaty by adoption from 12 p.m. March 28, 2020, of the following measures:

The restriction on the exit of citizens from home, with the exception of the acquisition of food, medicine and employment;
Closing of crowded places (parks, squares, pedestrian streets, promenade, playgrounds, etc.);
Phased restriction of public transport;
The prohibition of meetings on the streets and in other public places by groups of more than three people (with the exception of family members);
A ban on the movement of minors unaccompanied by adults.

In order to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection, a 14-day quarantine is in place in the Tuelsizdіkke 20 Zhyl residential house of the Abay district, Shymkent. The houses will be checked for the presence of the residents.
Shymkent will also suspend the activities of the airport, railway and bus stations, and kindergartens. The crowded places (parks, squares, pedestrian streets, playgrounds, etc.) will be closed. The work of public catering points will be limited to 6 p.m. (from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. – home delivery). The movement of public transport will be suspended in stages. The limitation of the operating hours of grocery stores, shopping centers, clothing markets and service facilities will be carried out by decision of the akim of Shymkent.

The Head of Government instructed the Ministry of Healthcare, together with the Ministry of Justice, to adopt an appropriate act to introduce restrictive measures.

The meeting participants also considered issues of providing the population with socially significant food products and price stability, organizing distance learning for schoolchildren after spring break (from April 6, 2020), as well as providing assistance to citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan who are abroad and have expressed a desire to return to the homeland.