ULAN BATOR, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia will enter a state of public disaster preparedness and impose a nationwide 24-hour lockdown with effect from 6:00 a.m. Thursday local time for five days to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country's Deputy Prime Minister Yangu Sodbaatar said Wednesday night.
The Mongolian government made the decision after the country confirmed its first locally transmitted COVID-19 case earlier Wednesday.
"The government made this decision to prevent the wider spread of COVID-19 or identify all people who had contact with locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases," Sodbaatar said, urging citizens to stay home and maintain good personal hygiene habits.
Within the framework of the decision, certain organizations such as grocery stores, supermarkets, food markets, gas stations, pharmacies, hospitals and power plants are allowed to operate normally.
A 29-year-old Mongolian transport driver who returned home from Russia via Altanbulag border point tested positive for the virus four days after he was released from a 21-day mandatory isolation, according to the country's State Emergency Commission.
His wife also tested positive for the virus and is considered to be the first domestically transmitted COVID-19 case in the country, the commission said.
At least over 70 people in close contact with the couple have been isolated, with two of them testing positive for the virus so far.
The Asian country has 384 confirmed COVID-19 cases so far, with no deaths. Enditem
