Testing for coronavirus in Belarus. File photoMINSK, Feb. 1 The Ministry of Health of Belarus allowed doctors to diagnose COVID-19 in the presence of clinical and X-ray data without mandatory PCR testing, the press service of the department said on Tuesday. «The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus allowed doctors to diagnose «COVID-19 infection» in the presence of clinical and/or X-ray tomographic data — without mandatory PCR testing or antigen testing at the outpatient stage. The exception is those cases when hospitalization of the patient is required. Order No. 108 is signed at the Ministry of Health on January 31,» the Ministry of Health said in a message on the Telegram channel. The ministry explained that this decision was made to reduce the risk of contracting acute respiratory infections, including COVID-19, when visiting clinics. Earlier, the Ministry of Health announced an increase in incidence of coronavirus in Belarus. Over the past day, almost 2,000 patients with COVID-19 were registered in the republic, 1,514 patients were discharged. In total, about 743 thousand cases of coronavirus have been registered in Belarus since the beginning of the pandemic.
