Editing Alexander Lukashenko (section)

====COVID-19 pandemic====
{{main|COVID-19 pandemic in Belarus}}
[[File:Лукашенко- Как закрыли-! Я вас заставил не делать этого! -- Лида. Центральная районная больница.webm|left|thumb|229x229px|Lukashenko visited the Lida Central District Hospital in 2021, during his working trip to the Grodno region.]]
During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Lukashenko stated that concerns about the pandemic were a "frenzy and a psychosis" and that working the tractors, drinking vodka and going to saunas could prevent people from infection from the virus. "People are working in tractors. No one is talking about the virus", Lukashenko said on 16 March 2020. "There, the tractor will heal everyone. The fields heal everyone". He also said: "I don't drink, but recently I've been saying that people should not only wash their hands with vodka, but also poison the virus with it. You should drink the equivalent of 40–50 milliliters of rectified spirit daily", but he advised against doing so while at work. Lukashenko described these comments as a joke.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dixon|first=Robyn|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/no-lockdown-here-belaruss-strongman-rejects-coronavirus-risks-he-suggests-saunas-and-vodka/2020/03/27/7aab812c-7025-11ea-a156-0048b62cdb51_story.html|title=No lockdown here: Belarus's strongman rejects coronavirus risks. He suggests saunas and vodka|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=27 March 2020|access-date=8 May 2020|archive-date=8 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200508122325/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/no-lockdown-here-belaruss-strongman-rejects-coronavirus-risks-he-suggests-saunas-and-vodka/2020/03/27/7aab812c-7025-11ea-a156-0048b62cdb51_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/29/football/football-continues-belarus-coronavirus-lockdown-spt-intl/index.html|publisher=CNN|first=Matias|last=Grez|title=Football is shut down across Europe due to the coronavirus, but in Belarus it's business as usual|access-date=30 March 2020|date=29 March 2020|archive-date=30 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330010112/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/29/football/football-continues-belarus-coronavirus-lockdown-spt-intl/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/belarusian-leader-prescribes-sport-sauna-and-vodka-to-beat-covid-19-1.4217093|title=Belarusian leader prescribes sport, sauna and vodka to beat Covid-19|first=Daniel|last=McLaughlin|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|accessdate=4 May 2022|archive-date=28 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028030241/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/belarusian-leader-prescribes-sport-sauna-and-vodka-to-beat-covid-19-1.4217093|url-status=live}}</ref> By early May, Belarus was reported to have 15,000 diagnosed cases, one of the highest per capita rates of infection in Eastern Europe.<ref>{{cite news|last=Khurshudyan|first=Isabelle|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/coronavirus-is-spreading-rapidly-in-belarus-but-its-leader-still-denies-theres-a-problem/2020/05/01/a2532ba0-8964-11ea-80df-d24b35a568ae_story.html|title=Coronavirus is spreading rapidly in Belarus, but its leader still denies there is a problem|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=2 May 2020|access-date=8 May 2020|archive-date=8 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200508071856/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/coronavirus-is-spreading-rapidly-in-belarus-but-its-leader-still-denies-theres-a-problem/2020/05/01/a2532ba0-8964-11ea-80df-d24b35a568ae_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 28 July 2020, Lukashenko announced he had asymptomatic COVID-19.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Haltiwanger|first=John|title=Europe's last dictator got COVID-19 after telling people they could avoid it by drinking vodka and going to the sauna|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/europe-last-dictator-belarus-lukashenko-covid-19-vodka-sauna-2020-7|access-date=28 July 2020|website=Business Insider|archive-date=28 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728192003/https://www.businessinsider.com/europe-last-dictator-belarus-lukashenko-covid-19-vodka-sauna-2020-7|url-status=live}}</ref> Neither the Presidential Administration nor the country's health service have commented on this statement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/belarus-president-alexander-lukashenko-who-said-vodka-would-cure-the-coronavirus-tests-positive-and-recovers|title=Belarus President, Who Said Vodka Would Cure the Coronavirus, Says He Tested Positive and Recovered|first=Blake|last=Montgomery|date=28 July 2020|website=The Daily Beast|access-date=9 August 2020|archive-date=12 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812102921/https://www.thedailybeast.com/belarus-president-alexander-lukashenko-who-said-vodka-would-cure-the-coronavirus-tests-positive-and-recovers|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-belarus/belarus-president-says-he-survived-coronavirus-on-his-feet-idUSKCN24T258|work=Reuters|title=Belarus president says he survived coronavirus 'on his feet'|date=28 July 2020|access-date=21 April 2021|last1=Makhovsky|first1=Andrei|archive-date=21 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421145752/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-belarus/belarus-president-says-he-survived-coronavirus-on-his-feet-idUSKCN24T258|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 12 August 2021, Lukashenko stated that he is strongly opposed to making vaccination mandatory. "There will be no mandatory vaccination in Belarus. I am strongly against it. Vaccination will remain voluntary. If a person wants to be vaccinated it is good, if not, let it be".<ref>{{Cite web|date=12 August 2021|title=Lukashenko against mandatory vaccination in Belarus|url=https://eng.belta.by/president/view/lukashenko-against-mandatory-vaccination-in-belarus-142451-2021/|access-date=14 August 2021|website=eng.belta.by|language=en-EN|archive-date=21 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121161107/https://eng.belta.by/president/view/lukashenko-against-mandatory-vaccination-in-belarus-142451-2021/|url-status=live}}</ref>