Kazakhstan to extend quarantine, resume SMEs, prepare reforms

Kazakhstan will extend the regime of the state of emergency until the end of April. At the same time, the country is preparing to resume the work of small and medium-sized businesses gradually.

Speaking at a meeting of the State Commission on the State of Emergency on April 10, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted the significant stabilization of the COVID-19-related situation in Nur-Sultan and Almaty. But in other regions of the country, rates of growth in the number of infected remain high.

"We have not yet reached the peak incidence of coronavirus. The situation with the epidemic cannot be simplified. For this reason, I instruct to extend the quarantine regime in the capital, Almaty, Shymkent, and in the relevant regions until the end of April," the President said.

At the same time, the Government, in close coordination with akims (regional governors), will have to carry out a targeted work to bring small and medium-sized businesses out of stagnation into a zone of gradual recovery, primarily in the two largest cities of the country.

"We have a two-fold task - to comply with quarantine for the sake of the health of our citizens, as well as a careful resumption of enterprises," Tokayev emphasized. Local governments will prepare lists of enterprises that comply with strict sanitary-epidemiological requirements and provide social distance at workplaces.

The President also emphasized that the country will have to develop a new set of reforms based on lessons learned during the crisis.

"We have to implement radical reforms of healthcare, education, and science. The crisis exposes all the shortcomings and thus carries enormous opportunities. We must take advantage of them," he said. The primary task, according to the President, is to upgrade the country's IT-sector to have a fullfledged digital government.

Earlier, President Tokayev announced measures of state support for the healthcare system, the economy, and the social sphere. The country is implementing a $10 bn worth package of anti-crisis measures.

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