Ukrainian MP praises Azerbaijan’s response to COVID-19 crisis

By Azernews

By Akbar Mammadov

Head of the Ukrainian parliament’s committee on Economic Development Dmitry Natalukha has praised Azerbaijan’s response to the novel coronavirus, saying that his country can benefit from Baku’s strategy to defend its citizens. Natalukha made the remarks in an exclusive interview to Azertag on April 11.

“After all, this strategy should not only involve the application of quarantine and isolation regimes. It is remarkable that a special Fund has been established in Azerbaijan to support the fight against COVID-19, and the social protection of doctors participating in anti-infection measures has been strengthened”, the Ukrainian MP said.

“In addition, President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order to allocate over $588.2 million to the Cabinet of Ministers to curtail the consequences of the coronavirus. Free express tests to reveal the virus have been conducted at homes and additional stationary and mobile laboratories have been opened to combat COVID-19. This list can go on and a number of other measures are under way”, he concluded.

It should be noted that 1,148 infected people have been detected in Azerbaijan; 289 of them recovered, 12 people died, and 847 people are being treated in special hospitals.

Azerbaijan is building six modular hospital to treat the COVID-19 patients and a new clinic to fight the disease was inaugurated recently. 

On March 19, President Aliyev announced the creation of the Fund to Support Fight Against Coronavirus.

Initially, the government allocated $11.7 million to the fund and the president and the first lady donated their annual salaries to the fund. As of April 8, the fund had collected about $65.1 million. Donations have been made by 2,692 legal entities and 8,223 individuals.

Earlier, on March 3, President Ilham Aliyev announced the allocation of $5.8m for fight against the spread of coronavirus in the country.