Фото: Артём Берестень, «Ваяр»
A special CSTO exercise, Barrier-2026, is continuing in Belarus. Servicemen from the joint radiation, chemical and biological defence and medical support unit are practising responses to the large-scale spread of a dangerous infectious disease.
An examination room and a patient observation area have been set up at the Staradarozhsky Central District Hospital, and procedures for disinfecting emergency medical vehicles have been organised. The hospital has also been equipped with a PCR laboratory provided by the Republican Centre for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health.
Military specialists and civilian medical workers are practising how to identify patients with symptoms of infectious diseases and provide them with medical care.
A reception and diagnostic unit for patients suspected of having contracted dangerous infections has been deployed at the Staradarozhsky training ground. Servicemen are practising identifying such patients, isolating them and evacuating them to specialised medical facilities. The unit also provides initial admission, medical care, PCR diagnostics, disinfection and the destruction of biologically hazardous waste.
Aliaksandr Malyukh, head of the Military Medical Directorate of the Belarusian Defence Ministry and a colonel in the medical service, said the exercise allows medical personnel to assess their readiness to identify biological threats, conduct sanitary and anti-epidemic measures, and provide care to patients with infectious diseases. According to him, the work is being carried out under a strict anti-epidemic regime.
“Holding such events with the participation of specialists from other countries provides an enormous opportunity for medical workers from different countries to exchange experience. The joint unit is ready to respond to any situation while carrying out its tasks on the territory of CSTO member states. At the same time, the specific characteristics of the sanitary and epidemiological situation in each country must be taken into account. Experience gained from deploying the joint unit in the Republic of Belarus may subsequently be used to contain infectious diseases,” the Belarusian Defence Ministry quoted him as saying.