AKIPRESS.COM - In compliance with the ongoing five-day strict lockdown measure in place nationwide until November 17 as a step to limit the extent of COVID-19 spread in Mongolia, residents in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar are being asked to adhere to home isolation rule beginning from 11 PM November 13, Montsame reports.

During this period, residents are urged to stay at home and only to leave if it is necessary, such as to buy groceries, medicines, and other necessities, and are being told to adopt social distancing measures when they leave.

Essential employees of organizations and companies, which are allowed to remain open, such as food stores and supermarkets, gas stations, hospitals, pharmacies, power stations, communications and media, and funeral services, must carry work identification during their commute.

Noting that the quarantine regime in Ulaanbaatar is being satisfactorily observed, Deputy Chairman of the General Police Department, Police Colonel J.Amgalan said that additional number of police officers and military servicemen, cadets of military educational institutions and employees of professional and specialized institutions will be deployed beginning from today across the city streets to remind residents about the quarantine guidelines to pedestrians and drivers and check for their ID and purpose of travel.

Since the first cases of COVID-19 community transmission were confirmed in Ulaanbaatar city on November 6 and 9, and another possible community transmission case that is not related to the first cases of local transmission had been detected in Selenge aimag yesterday, November 13, another 6 people, including their close relatives, who came into direct or indirect contact with them, have tested positive for the virus.

Contact tracing is underway and COVID-19 testing on them are expected to be completed within the next two days.

In the past week, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Mongolia surged by 30-40, including the cases of locally transmitted infection, and as of November 13, 412 cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Mongolia.