• Mongolia’s Small-Country Strategy for Containing COVID-19 – The Diplomat
    https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/mongolias-small-country-strategy-for-containing-covid-19

    In East Asia, then, Mongolia so far has the lowest number of infected people with just 11 cases.

    The government of Mongolia’s containment strategy is so far working for the country of 3.2 million people.

    As early as mid-February, when the new coronavirus was beginning to spread within Chinese borders, the Mongolian government’s strategy was to adopt decisive preventative measures. By canceling the national holiday Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian lunar new year, the country was able to slow travel between Ulaanbaatar and provinces outside the capital. Additionally, Mongolia closed its borders with China and Russia, stopping the inflow and outflow of people, and banned international flights from hotspots like South Korea. These steps have helped immensely to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

    It is imperative for Mongolia to take COVID-19 seriously because of its vulnerability. The scope and the rate of infection of COVID-19 pose a great threat to Mongolia medically, economically, and socially. On the other hand, the Mongolian government was able to quickly mobilize a COVID-19 task force of 832 individuals monitoring 336 checkpoints around the country as early as February 23, 2020.

    Mongolia’s small population potentially made it easier to track, locate, and contain the spread of the virus. The government was also able to bring its citizens home from countries like South Korea, Japan, Turkey, and Russia.

    Mongolian task force :
    http://www.cabinet.gov.mn/news.php?n=917
    #Mongolie #Covid cc @simplicissimus ?

    • merci !

      j’avais suivi pendant les deux premiers mois de la pandémie, après j’ai décroché.

      Oulan-Bator, sa densité et son hyper-pollution hivernale pose un problème spécifique dont, apparemment, le pays s’est bien sorti. La densité du reste du pays relativise nettement les risques de transmission, les rassemblements importants à l’occasion des divers naadams ayant toujours lieu en extérieur.

      Enfin, Tsagaan Sar était effectivement LE truc à faire : la tradition impose de rendre visite aux anciens et de les honorer particulièrement. Avec un très beau geste rituel (qui paraît-il serait en train de disparaître) où le jeune place ses avant-bras tendus, paume vers le haut sous les avant-bras de l’ancien - sans contact - en un geste de soutien symbolique. Avec une autre coutume à faire ce qui ressemble à un baiser (action parfaitement inconnue là-bas) : se renifler mutuellement - toujours sans contact - derrière l’oreille la première fois que l’on se rencontre de l’année (lunaire) donc à Tsagaan Sar ou après.

    • je ne trouve pas de photo de ce geste
      ici, on voit le reniflement…

      How to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Mongolia? - Tsagaan Sar 2020
      https://www.discovermongolia.mn/blogs/tsagaan-sar-a-national-holiday-of-mongolia

      On the first day of the Tsagaan Sar, people have to wake up before the sunrise and put on their new or clean clothes. Then men climb to the nearest hill or mountain to watch the first sunrise of the New Year while women make milk tea at home and offer it to earth and god wishing the best to their family. Thereafter they visit their parents, grandparents or elder relatives. Mongolians perform a special greeting called ’’Zolgolt” during the holiday. When greeting someone, the younger person stretches both arms with palms facing upwards to the older person. The older person puts their arm on the top while the younger one`s arm goes underneath supporting the elbow of the older one. Then the younger should say “Amar baina uu?” first meaning “How are you?”. In turn, the elder responds and kiss or sniff both cheeks of the younger one. Each visit must start with “zolgolt” to the eldest one in the house and in order of age.

    • Visites politiques protocolaires, mais les gestes rituels sont bien présents…
      Төрийн гурван өндөрлөг золголт хийлээ
      http://www.mminfo.mn/politics/news/9098

      l’autre hyper classique, l’échange de tabatières (Messieurs, pensez à toujours avoir une tabatière dans son étui ad hoc pour pouvoir répondre honorablement à cet échange et, bien sûr, pratiquer naturellement l’ensemble du rituel…)


      (photo plus caractéristique que celle avec le moine, dans le même reportage, où il n’y a pas échange stricto sensu… l’échange se fait en un seul geste)

      #золголт