Belarus suspends routine medical care to focus on COVID-19

Belarus has ordered a halt to routine medical care at state clinics in order to devote more resources to coronavirus patients

KYIV, Ukraine -- Belarus on Monday ordered a halt to routine medical care at state clinics in order to devote more resources to coronavirus patients.

The Health Ministry said the suspended services include medical examinations and screenings, physiotherapy and dentistry.

Belarus has been hit by a rising wave of coronavirus infections, with around 2,000 new cases reported daily in the country of 9.3 million.

Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has often brushed off concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, once saying that infections could be treated with “a tractor, a bath and vodka.”