State Emergency Commission of Mongolia called its meeting yesterday, January 10 to discuss the COVID-19 situation in the country and gave instructions to relevant officials on the improvement of home treatment of COVID-19. Secretary of the SEC T. Bayarkhuu introduced the SEC’s decision to the press.

The SEC recommends that vaccinated people and people who are experiencing mild illness be treated at home as the hospital workload is likely to increase during the peak of Omicron. The SEC will pay special attention to hospitalization of unvaccinated children, the elderly and pregnant women. He said, “The Minister of Health has previously reported on the local transmission of Omicron variant of SARS Cov-2, and the Government has not issued any decision to impose restrictions and quarantine. As of today, 66.6 percent of the total population have been fully immunized while 28.8 percent of the population have received the third dose. Since the issuance of a decision to ensure adult population to get fourth dose voluntarily, more than 2000 people have received their fourth jab so far. The fourth wave, driven by Omicron, starts in the country and is predicted to peak from the 20th of this month to the 10th of next month. It is estimated that 18-20 thousand daily cases may occur during the height of pandemic.”

Moreover, the SEC urges elders, pregnant women, and those who have not been vaccinated not to participate in public activities during the Omicron wave. Businesses and organizations are also recommended to take organizational measures internally, such as to shift to remote work or work in shifts.