As of today (22 June), 459 Mongolians have died of Covid-19; 176 of them in June alone! Wrong decisions made by the authorities are being blamed for the worsening Covid-19 situation in Mongolia. Public health and the economy are challenged are being sorely tested by coronavirus as tally nears to 100,000; in some quarters, this is being blamed on the recent presidential election campaign and the distribution of medals and other awards by President Kh.Battulga.

Now, medical experts are demanding that the government orders quarantines to save lives from coronavirus; at the same time, economists are warning that people will suffer from default if a further lockdown is imposed.

Deputy Prime Minister S.Amarsaikhan said ‘the Cabinet decided to no longer issue quarantines. However, hospitals in Ulaanbaatar are approaching breaking point. If daily cases of coronavirus do not decrease, then the government will have no choice but to take strict measures’.

According to one source, Cabinet members are divided and arguing over whether to issue a lockdown order or not. Health experts proposed to Cabinet to authorise 14-21 days of lockdown. Therefore, Cabinet is considering issuing nationwide lockdown from 2 July until 21 July after U.Khurelsukh takes his oath as President on 25 June.