Lukashenko: Belarus survived pandemic by taking its own path, yet drew key lessons
30.10.2026
MINSK (
BelTA) – Belarus will spare no expense to provide high-quality medical care to its population, but existing facilities must be utilized efficiently, as a hospital is not a holiday resort, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during the opening ceremony of the new City Infectious Diseases Hospital in Minsk on 30 October, BelTA has learned.
“You remember the so-called pandemic that we lived through together, despite being the only nation in the world [Belarus] that took its own path and came out ahead. We saved ourselves by not following the crowd, which was imposing full lockdowns and throwing helicopter money around. We couldn’t afford either,” the head of state said. “However, we drew the necessary lessons from when we were scrambling from side to side, searching for space for infectious patients. Fortunately, we had not destroyed the infectious disease departments and hospitals in regional and district centers. But we saw that in major cities like Minsk, we lacked exactly this kind of dedicated, compact facility to accommodate these patients.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that it was in this context, and at the suggestion of experts, that the decision was made to build a functional hospital. “And we have built it,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.
“We learned lessons from the recent pandemic. We didn’t dismiss anything or brush it aside. We recognized our own shortcomings as well. And we must be ready at any moment to prevent a recurrence of those mistakes and gaps that occurred in the past,” the head of state said.
The president pointed out that the new hospital features several isolated wings, allowing it to treat not only infectious patients but any other cases if necessary. “These buildings must not stand empty. They must operate efficiently and deliver results,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized. “In this regard, we discussed a lingering issue – we have gone to extremes. Even earlier, we started building ‘palaces’ instead of hospitals. Mind you, a hospital is not a holiday resort. Things must be perfect in the operating rooms, intensive care units, and wards. There, everything must exceed world standards, and we will spare no expense for that. But everything else, I stress once again, is not a resort.”
“You remember the so-called pandemic that we lived through together, despite being the only nation in the world [Belarus] that took its own path and came out ahead. We saved ourselves by not following the crowd, which was imposing full lockdowns and throwing helicopter money around. We couldn’t afford either,” the head of state said. “However, we drew the necessary lessons from when we were scrambling from side to side, searching for space for infectious patients. Fortunately, we had not destroyed the infectious disease departments and hospitals in regional and district centers. But we saw that in major cities like Minsk, we lacked exactly this kind of dedicated, compact facility to accommodate these patients.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that it was in this context, and at the suggestion of experts, that the decision was made to build a functional hospital. “And we have built it,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.
“We learned lessons from the recent pandemic. We didn’t dismiss anything or brush it aside. We recognized our own shortcomings as well. And we must be ready at any moment to prevent a recurrence of those mistakes and gaps that occurred in the past,” the head of state said.
The president pointed out that the new hospital features several isolated wings, allowing it to treat not only infectious patients but any other cases if necessary. “These buildings must not stand empty. They must operate efficiently and deliver results,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized. “In this regard, we discussed a lingering issue – we have gone to extremes. Even earlier, we started building ‘palaces’ instead of hospitals. Mind you, a hospital is not a holiday resort. Things must be perfect in the operating rooms, intensive care units, and wards. There, everything must exceed world standards, and we will spare no expense for that. But everything else, I stress once again, is not a resort.”