Lukashenka doesn’t notice swine flu in Belarus but sends humanitarian aid to Ukraine

• 6.11.2009, 9:05

Viktor Yushchenko and Alyaksandr Lukashenka are to visit the Ukrainian one of the Ukrainian regions affected by swine flu epidemic.

The Ukrainian president told this during the joint press conference in Kiev, UNIAN reports. Yushchenko didn’t say which of the regions is meant. He added his Belarusian colleague wouldn’t come empty-handed.

Russian “Novye Izvestiya” reports that the Belarusian ruler and Viktor Yushchenko will visit Ivano-Frankovsk (the epidemic center) and bring humanitarian aid from Minsk.

As we have already reported, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said yesterday that people “shouldn’t panic” about A(H1N1) flu.

“Let’s be sincere – we stopped crowing about “bird” flu. The whole world was crowing. They probably sold everything relating to avian flu, now they are squealing likes pigs. Will we purr or bleat tomorrow?” Lukashenka wondered.

“The flu, even swine flu, is not incurable plague or cholera, it can be treated,” the Belarusian president said.

“We are able to cope with it, and Ukraine is able too. Do not fear, do not aggravate the situation,” Lukashenka stated.

He Belarus was ready to produce medical face masks for Ukraine if necessary: “We have a gauze-producing factory, if protective masks are needed Mr Viktor and I will make them and deliver. But you must buy them, I know, you’ll stop buying them in a week.”

We remind, even according to official data, the number of swine flu cases in Belarus is 4.5-fold higher than in Ukraine. The drugstores don not have anti-flu medicines, including Tamiflu, the medication the whole world use to treat A(H1N1) virus. Belarusian drugstores lack the most required things – medical face masks, Unguentum Oxolini, and even cevitamic acid.