Belarus president says vodka and a SAUNA will stop you getting coronavirus as he refuses to lock the country down

  • President Aleksandr Lukashenko has ordered life to go on as normal in Belarus
  • He called coronavirus lockdowns 'nonsense' and said his country will stay open
  • People should drink vodka and visit saunas to keep themselves healthy, he said 
  • To underline the point, he took part in an ice hockey game on Saturday 
  • Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

By Chris Pleasance for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

Belarus's strongman president has refused to lock the country down over coronavirus, insisting that vodka and saunas will beat the disease instead. 

Aleksandr Lukashenko has insisted that life should go on as normal in the eastern European nation of 9.5million people, where 154 infections have been confirmed - though the country does not provide regular daily updates.

Fans packed into football stadiums around the country on Saturday as the season continued apace, while Lukashenko himself took part in an ice hockey tournament.

Aleksandr Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, has ordered life to go on as normal despite coronavirus - saying that vodka and saunas will beat the virus

Aleksandr Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, has ordered life to go on as normal despite coronavirus - saying that vodka and saunas will beat the virus

Underlining his point, Lukashenko - a strongman leader who has ruled Belarus since 1994 - took part in an ice hockey game on Saturday

Underlining his point, Lukashenko - a strongman leader who has ruled Belarus since 1994 - took part in an ice hockey game on Saturday

Lukashenko (centre left, wearing a baseball cap) hugged and posed with players from both teams, with nobody wearing protective equipment or separating themselves

Lukashenko (centre left, wearing a baseball cap) hugged and posed with players from both teams, with nobody wearing protective equipment or separating themselves

In a televised speech, he said: 'There shouldn't be any panic. You just have to work, especially now, in a village. Tractors will cure everyone. The field heals everyone.

'Go to the banya [a Russian-style sauna]. Two or three times a week will do you good. When you come out of the sauna, not only wash your hands, but also your insides with 100 millilitres [of vodka].'  

Lukashenko, who has ruled his country since 1994, earlier denounced travel bans and border closures being used by neighbouring countries as 'utter stupidity'.  

'It's better to die standing that to live on your knees,' he added.

With foreign sports networks having little to show and few other options for sports betting, Lukashenko says the pandemic is a perfect opportunity to put the country's soccer league on display.

'I look at Russia and some people there are winning a lot on bets, because beforehand they didn't really know our teams,' Lukashenko said. 

'Someone's losing, someone's winning. It's all useful.'

Fans entering the stadiums in Belarus are given antiseptic hand gel and some have their temperatures monitored by medics.

Belarus also continued to host football matches on Saturday, with fans packing into stadiums with no protective measures in place

Belarus also continued to host football matches on Saturday, with fans packing into stadiums with no protective measures in place

Players hugged and clasped hands as they played in Belarus on Saturday in stark contrast to most European leagues, which have shut down

Players hugged and clasped hands as they played in Belarus on Saturday in stark contrast to most European leagues, which have shut down

Few wear masks because they're not considered necessary for open-air events, Belarus soccer federation spokesman Alexander Aleinik said. 

The Belarusian league isn't usually an international attraction. Crowds this season barely average 1,200 and UEFA ranks it the continent's 25th strongest, just below Norway, Israel and Kazakhstan.

But Russian TV has given its games prominent slots on state sports channels and betting firms around Western Europe are streaming them for customers.

British fans on social media have picked teams to follow and thrown themselves into a new fandom, elevating obscure players to hero status and berating coaches for supposedly negative tactics.

There isn't much competition, with betting sites offering little more than Nicaraguan soccer, Tajikistan basketball and Russian table tennis as rivals.

Sergei Melnikov is one of those hoping to make an impression on the mostly empty global sports stage. He is the director of the Isloch club, which beat Smolevichi 1-0 on Sunday to keep pace with the leaders on points.

'The whole world is watching our soccer right now,' Melnikov said. 'That means we have to show the best that we've got.'

 

Covid-19

Most watched News videos