New batch of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines received by Belarus

MINSK -- A plane carrying Chinese COVID-19 vaccines arrived at the Minsk International Airport on Friday, with the vaccines later handed over by Chinese Ambassador Xie Xiaoyong to Belarusian Minister of Health Dmitry Pinevich.

The latest arrival of the Chinese vaccines not only reflects the high level of relations between China and Belarus, but also testifies to the strong friendship between the two peoples, Xie said at the handover ceremony.

Since 2020, the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has become a key area of Chinese-Belarusian cooperation, and the two countries have helped each other and exchanged experiences in the fields of prevention, epidemic control, diagnosis and treatment, the ambassador said.

Pinevich expressed his sincere gratitude to China and noted that recently, Belarus and China celebrated the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and the two countries maintain close cooperation in various fields, including health care.

Pinevich said that Chinese vaccines are very reliable, and his ministry will distribute the vaccines to various medical institutions as soon as possible.

According to Belarusian official data, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Belarus has reached 722,939, including 1,791 new cases and 17 more deaths in the last 24 hours.

The total death toll from the virus has reached 5,899 in the country.