Almost all regions of Kazakhstan move into ‘red zone’ for COVID-19 transmission

Kazakhstan reports a sharp surge in the spread of coronavirus. Over the last month, the infection rate has increased almost 20-fold due to the spread of the Omicron variant. The country has moved into the ‘red zone’ for the COVID transmission, Health Minister Azhar Giniyat announced at the Government’s meeting. According to her, the coronavirus disease in this variant is mostly asymptomatic and mild. 80 percent of the infected are on outpatient treatment. Hospitalizations account for 19 percent of the cases diagnosed, while five percent of the confirmed cases are severe and extremely severe.

“The Omicron variant, which caused a stir around the world, has aggravated the epidemic situation in Kazakhstan. The whole country is in the COVID-19 ‘red’ zone with the exception of the Turkistan region. Over the past month, the coronavirus infection rate has increased by 19.6 times, and the reproduction number has increased twofold. The daily volume of COVID-19 testing increased by 3.5 times and reached 50,000 tests per day,” Kazakh Health Minister said.

Giniyat also reported that the vaccination rates in Kazakhstan had fallen by 1.6 times, and the revaccination rate decreased threefold. The country has formed the staff to assess the increase in the incidence rate and the measures taken. Systematic work will be carried out with each region.

Translation and Editing by Assem Zhanmukhanova