Mongolia eases COVID-19 restrictions

Mongolia lowered COVID-19 restrictions level from Orange to Yellow, the embassy said in a press statement Wednesday.

According to the Mongolian Embassy, 92 percent of the country’s total adult population are fully vaccinated and 52 percent of target group of citizens have received third shots.

The embassy said 90,000 citizens had got fourth shots so far, and the Cabinet made the decision to ease pandemic restrictions based on an assessment of infection and protection risks.

“With the updates that were made to COVID-19 temporary regulations in January this year, no restrictions will be imposed on business operations,” said the embassy.

Addressing a press conference, Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene noted that Mongolia was now fully open to international travel, and aside from the advisory issued for wearing face masks, and social distancing, all prior restrictions imposed in connection with the pandemic situation had been lifted.

He said that Mongolia was open to all tourists and investors who are fully vaccinated,

“The government, administrative bodies, private entities, and tourism companies of Mongolia will put efforts into creating the necessary conditions to ensure safety and provide smooth services for all those arriving in the country for business and tourism purposes,” the prime minister added.

The embassy statement read that Mongolia imposed strict lockdown measures seven times, spending 79 days under the Red level of restrictions since November 2020 and Orange level -- a heightened state of readiness -- was implemented during rest of the period halted country’s exports, slowed down transportation, affected schools and businesses and risked over 200,000 job opportunities.

Mongolia’s economic growth reached minus 5.3 percent since 1992 and general budget revenue decreased by 23 percent.

Oyun-Erdene highlighted that pandemic continues to pose challenges and urged citizens and entities to protect themselves from COVID-19 adding that government would continue to stand firm in its stance on making up for pandemic losses and increasing investment through economic recovery within the framework of the “New Revival Policy.”


By Sanjay Kumar (sanjaykumar@heraldcorp.com)