ULAN BATOR, Feb 4 (NNN-MONGOLIAWEB) – Mongolia’s State Emergency Commission (SEC) yesterday decided to impose lockdown measures again, here in the capital city Ulan Bator, during the traditional White Moon festival or the Lunar New Year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The total lockdown for a period of two weeks in the city will take effect on Feb 11, or Lunar New Year’s Eve, known as “Bituun” in Mongolia.
“During this holiday, people visit their parents, relatives and friends. So, there is no other way but to reimpose a 24-hour strict lockdown in the city, to prevent the situation from getting worse,” Sainbuyan Amarsaikhan, head of the SEC or deputy prime minister, said.
Last month, the government made a decision not to publicly celebrate the traditional White Moon festival, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Mongolians are still preparing for the holiday, which is actually a combination of ringing the old year out and the new year in, as well as, a celebration when families get together.
Mongolia confirmed its first case of COVID-19 in Mar, 2020. Its first local transmission was detected in early Nov, when a woman tested positive, after her husband returning from Russia finished his 21-day quarantine.
The incident triggered a nationwide lockdown that was later extended to Ulan Bator and two provinces until Dec 11. After that, the government reimposed lockdown measures in Ulan Bator, which was the hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak, from Dec 23 to Jan 6, and extended the strict all-day lockdown until Jan 11, to curb resurging local cases.
So far, Mongolia reported 1,859 cases, and more than 1,000 of them were detected in Ulan Bator, home to over half of the country’s 3.3 million population.– NNN-MONGOLIAWEB
