Azernews.Az

By Akbar Mammadov

President Ilham Aliyev has hailed the country’s fight against COVID-19, saying that timely measures to curb the spread of the pandemic have helped to keep the situation under control.

Aliyev made the remarks on August 31 when a new hospital of modular type was opened at the Medical Center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, designed to treat COVID-19 patients.

Addressing the opening ceremony in a video format, the president reminded that the country has 46 hospitals for COVID-19 patients, which were created as a result of the implementation of state programs for socio-economic development of regions. Out of these hospitals, 41 have been built in the last 17 years.

“It is not too difficult to imagine what problems we could have faced today if we hadn’t taken this step on time. I can say with full responsibility that if these hospitals had not been built on time, we would be in a very difficult situation today. The hospitals were not only built, but they were also fitted with the state-of-the-art equipment, and this process continues today. The material and technical infrastructure of our healthcare system play a special role in the fight against COVID,” the president said.

Moreover, the president emphasized that recently, the number of laboratories in the country increased by several times and reached 45 today compared to six laboratories at the start of the pandemic.

“More than 900,000 tests have been conducted and Azerbaijan occupies the leading place in the world by the number of tests carried out per capita."

Furthermore, the president said that the government has allocated large funds for the construction of hospitals in the county.

“The available bed capacity was insufficient to successfully fight this terrible pandemic. In just six months, the bed capacity of our country has expanded significantly."

"It is planned to build seven hospitals of modular type. It is not necessary for the time being because the number of patients in our country is decreasing and, if necessary, it will be possible to quickly build additional hospitals with 1,400 beds,” he added.

Social support amid COVID-19

Furthermore, the president underlined that that government is taking measures to curb the effects of pandemic on the socio-economic situation in the country.

“About five million people are covered by a large social package. Both the public and private sectors, as well as the unemployed, including those working informally, vulnerable people – all categories of people, are provided with financial support by the state. This shows once again that the well-being of our people, their social status and, of course, their health is a key issue for us,” he said.

The president reiterated his earlier comments that the government prioritized citizens’ health over the economy, adding that, however, the economic situation in Azerbaijan is better than in other countries.

“As a result of the measures taken in our country, the economy fell by only 2.8 per cent in seven months. Given the global landscape, I think this is a good indicator,” he said.

Furthermore, Aliyev touched upon the special attention paid to Azerbaijani doctors, saying that people working in the healthcare system are always taken care of by the state.

The president noted that all work done is bearing fruit, and it is no coincidence that the situation in the fight against COVID has become more positive in recent weeks. “We see positive dynamics, and I hope that this dynamic will be maintained in the future,” he added.

Aliyev underlined that Azerbaijan has been in close contact with the World Health Organization since the outbreak of pandemic and these contacts continue to this day.

“As you know, the World Health Organization has praised the work done in Azerbaijan in this area and described Azerbaijan as an exemplary country. This is indeed the case. In other words, the work we have done, the state funds allocated to this area, the mobilization work, the construction of hospitals, the laboratories, the implementation of social programs – all these, have played a key role in our struggle,” the president stressed.

Moreover, President Aliyev spoke about the purchase of the COVID vaccine, saying that “we are currently actively working with several companies to bring the COVID vaccine to our country. I hope that Azerbaijan will be among the first countries to receive the vaccine in this area because we have been working on this issue for some time.”

The president pointed out that currently, 100 to 200 people are infected in the country every day, and this is certainly a better result than in previous months. Aliyev stressed that however, daily monitoring is and will be carried out to keep the situation under control. “At the same time, mitigation steps should be taken in such a way that the number of patients does not increase sharply. This is the key issue, and we will certainly take our steps very carefully,” he added.

“The sharp rise in the number of patients in some European countries makes us think and urges us to take more cautious steps. I want to say again that the primary issue is people's health. If our citizens continue to act responsibly – I should say that we do see and feel this responsibility recently and this is reflected in real results – then I think that we will be able to return to normality, to normal life in a short time,” Aliyev noted.

The president highlighted that the preventive measures taken in the country, especially the quarantine regime is bearing fruits.

Civic responsibility

The president stressed the importance of the civic responsibility in curbing the spread of COVID-19, saying that there are still cases of flagrant violation of anti-epidemiology rules.

He stressed that punitive measures must be taken against any violators of quarantine regime without discrimination.

“Everyone is equal before the law regardless of their social status. Equality, justice and the rule of law are the main principles in Azerbaijan, and I call on all our citizens to act responsibly. First, they must act responsibly in order to protect themselves and their loved ones,” he said.

Aliyev noted that those breaking the rules, organizing large-scale events and violating the laws and existing rules of the country in a demonstrative manner will be and are being punished.

“The public is also being informed about this issue. I think that the people of Azerbaijan are well aware that law is the law for everyone. No-one can be above law, no-one can have any privileges and no-one can and will be given any concessions.”

“If we look at the global statistics on COVID, we will see that the results obtained in our country are very effective and valuable. I think that it is thanks to these measures, that we have saved the lives of thousands of people,” Aliyev said.

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