Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia registered 2,153 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing its national tally to 298,519, the health ministry said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the countrywide death toll rose by 17 to 1,169 in the past 24 hours.

A total of 62,415 infected patients are receiving home-based care due to limited hospital beds and medical staff, the ministry said.

"Our country's health sector is now in a difficult situation due to the pandemic. The workload of this sector has reached its peak," Health Minister Sereejav Enkhbold said.

So far, 65 percent of Mongolia's population have been fully vaccinated since the Asian country launched a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign in late February.

However, the resurgence of COVID-19 has continued due to the Delta variant, and more than 2,000 infections and nearly 20 deaths have been reported daily in the country.

Indoor service facilities such as restaurants, karaoke and bars are not allowed to work after 10 p.m from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1 as part of the efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, the country's State Emergency Commission has said.

During the period, any indoor gatherings of more than 20 people are not allowed, the commission said.

According to World Bank, Mongolia’s economic growth is projected to expand by 4.5 percent this year, nearly 2 percentage points less than previous forecast. As for 2022, it is expected to be 5.2 percent.

"The global economy is recovering. High demand for commodity will increase net export earnings, and vaccination will have positive effect” said Andrei Mikhnev, the World Bank's Country Manager for Mongolia, East Asia & Pacific.

Jean-Pascal Nganou, the World Bank's Senior Economist for Mongolia, said, “Although 60-70 percent of the population has been vaccinated against coronavirus, Mongolia is still facing certain challenges. Currently, the third wave of the pandemic has erupted. Health sector preparedness is vital. With government support, the negative impacts of the pandemic have been mitigated, but the economy is slowing, as in other countries. During the pandemic, countries such as Mongolia and Vietnam are leading the region in government support. The slowdown in economic growth is mainly due to trade, border and customs issues."

He also stressed that household income among the vulnerable group will decrease in the future.

“The government's support for households through social welfare programs has created significant costs. It is working effectively amid the pandemic, but it will have a negative impact on fiscal stability. The budget deficit is likely to increase and the debt burden will be created by quasi-fiscal activities. Inflation has risen in the first half of this year. The Bank of Mongolia is under pressure due to the balance of payments. In order to effectively fight inflation, quasi-fiscal activities need to be stopped as part of monetary policy. In addition, the weakening of monetary policy criteria for the stability of the financial sector risks increasing the burden of the pandemic. Non-performing loans will increase with the introduction of pandemic regulations.” he added.

“Therefore, it is possible to overcome the pandemic by continuing to administrate vaccination, strengthening the health care system, and improving the transportation and logistics system. It is also necessary to gradually ease the measures taken to combat the epidemic and reduce the pressure on the budget. Budget projects and programs need to be cut and transferred. In addition, the requirements and criteria for financial supervision should be set back at the appropriate level. In the medium term, it is recommended reduce over-reliance on natural resources and implement structural reforms.”

A total of 288,000 citizens were vaccinated with the third dose nationwide, reports Minister of Health S.Enkhbold on September 27.

Vaccination started in August to immunize people who suffer from chronic disease, or aged over 60 with the third dose. Then, the citizens aged over 18 was offered a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 13,000 people are receiving vaccine shots per day. As the third dose is being offered based on the survey conducted by the foreign and domestic scientists and researchers, citizens are urged to actively get vaccinated.

“The number of people diagnosed with the delta variant of the virus in Israel surged despite administrating second jabs of the COVID-19 vaccines to its citizens. However, the number of cases decreased after accelerating vaccination of the third dose in August”, highlighted the Minister.

Mongolians experienced fuel shortages last week after Rosneft began repairing its Angarsk refinery. Due to the shortage, gas stations in Mongolia have been limiting supply to the public.

China and Russia are exporting gasoline to Mongolia on an emergency basis to assist the country to cope an energy supply shortage. An oil train departing from China arrived at Mongolia through the China-Mongolia border on Monday, carrying 2,750 tons of AI-92 gasoline. It is also reported that an oil train from Russia has arrived in Altanbulag, Mongolia, carrying 1,212 tons of AI-92 gasoline. Mongolia is planning to import 51 thousand fuel from Russia and China in October.

With the arrival of the oil tankers Mongolia said it will resume the normal supply of gasoline in the country from yesterday.

Mongolia consumes 38,000 to 40,000 tons of AI-92 gasoline each month, with the landlocked nation entirely dependent on outside supply, of which more than 90 percent is sourced from Russia.

Mongolia-born Hakuho's retirement from sumo ends a career that saw him shatter just about every record in the storied Japanese sport, which gripped his imagination from childhood.

During his two decades on the dohyo -- the ring where sumo wrestlers battle -- the 36-year-old broke records for everything from number of grand tournaments won to victories in a single year.

He racked up 1,187 career wins, though one record did elude him: his 63 consecutive tournament victories are just short of the record 69 set in the 1930s.

Born Munkhbat Davaajargal, Hakuho was the son of a champion Mongolian wrestler who won his country's first Olympic medal at the 1968 Games.

The young Hakuho's father wanted his son to become a judoka, but his interests lay elsewhere.

As a youngster he devoured Japanese sumo magazines, dreaming of becoming like the powerful rikishi (sumo wrestlers) he saw in their pages.

Aged just 15, and weighing in at a paltry 62 kilogrammes, he arrived in Japan in 2000 to tread the path of his idols.

But he was turned away by most stables, known as heya. No one wanted someone "as pale and skinny as me," he recalled in his autobiography published in 2015.

Just as he was on the verge of returning to Mongolia, he managed to persuade a trainer to take him on, and in March 2001 he entered the dohyo for the first time.

His trainer gave him the name "Hakuho", the second character of which refers to a bird in Chinese mythology and was part of the name of legendary sumo wrestler Taiho, who dominated the sport in the 1960s.

Hakuho was plunged into the world of keiko, the daily morning training of sumo wrestlers. And, fortified by the traditional chanko stew of the sport, he gradually began to assume the form of a traditional wrestler.

He came to weigh in at 158 kgs, standing 1.92 metres tall, and was elevated in 2007 to sumo's top rank of yokozuna.

- Training the next generation -

For years, he had a fierce rivalry with his fellow Mongolian yokozuna Asashoryu and the pair dominated the sport for around a decade.

On September 27, the State Emergency Commission convened yesterday on September 27, and made the decision to limit the operations of food production and services by only allowing them to run their operations until 10 pm until October 20.

The decision was made based on the suggestion put forth by scholars and researchers, highlighted Secretary of the State Emergency Commission T.Bayarkhuu during the press conference.

Furthermore, the Commission also decided to have people arriving from abroad be monitored under home-based self-isolation. In effect from October 15, they will also be involved in COVID-19 tests at the airport upon arrival. Currently, those that have not vaccinated against COVID-19 are being placed at isolation facilities for 7 days, and monitored under home-based isolation for another 7 days.

Arkhangai province, Mongolia — From September 14-23, the Civil Military Support Element of the U.S. Embassy partnered with the National Emergency Management Agency of Mongolia to organize the Khangai-21 Disaster Response Exercise in Arkhangai Province. Working together with Local Emergency Management Agencies from Arkhangai, Bayankhongor, Bulgan, Khuvsgul, Uvurkhangai, and Zavkhan medical and rescue personnel from the U.S. Air Force led training exercises in confined space and high-angle rescue, along with support training in emergency medicine, crisis communications, and emergency management. In addition to the more than 180 Mongolian participants, the defense attachés of Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the Republic of Turkey attended as observers.

Due to the risk and frequency of seismic activity in Mongolia, special focus was given to earthquake response in order to help Mongolian rescue personnel better prepare to provide assistance and relief to the people of Mongolia in the event of such a disaster. Training consisted of extensive classroom and field instruction on how to extract and evacuate disaster victims safely from confined spaces and high-angle environments. At the same time, medical personnel received training on how to triage and treat patients during an emergency. Additionally, officials from emergency operations centers received classroom instruction on efficient management and resourcing of rescue and medical personnel; how to communicate effectively with the public during a crisis; and ways to work with international non-governmental organizations to provide humanitarian relief. At the end of the training, participants successfully engaged in a large-scale exercise simulating a real-world natural disaster.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the United States and Mongolia were forced to cancel the Gobi Wolf multi-national disaster response exercise held annually in Mongolia. The Khangai-21 exercise allowed U.S. and Mongolian rescue personnel to solidify their productive partnership in the interim. Lessons learned from Khangai-21 will inform planning for the much larger Gobi Wolf exercise expected to resume in 2022. Khangai-21 further enhanced the strong bonds between the United States and Mongolia while making great progress in preparing Mongolian rescuers to protect and assist the people of Mongolia in the event of a natural disaster.

China and Russia are exporting gasoline to Mongolia on an emergency basis to assist the country to cope an energy supply shortage.

An oil train departing from China arrived at Mongolia through the China-Mongolia border on Sunday, carrying 2,750 tons of AI-92 gasoline, according to a notice issued by Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry of Mongolia.

It is also reported that an oil train from Russia has arrived in Altanbulag, Mongolia on Sunday, carrying 1,212 tons of AI-92 gasoline.

With the arrival of the oil tankers Mongolia said it will resume the normal supply of gasoline in the country from Monday, Mongolian fuel management authorities announced on Sunday.

At the request of the Mongolian government, China is to increase fuel oil exports. Due to the shortage, gas stations in Mongolia have been limiting supply to the public.

Mongolia consumes 38,000 to 40,000 tons of AI-92 gasoline each month, with the landlocked nation entirely dependent on outside supply, of which more than 90 percent is sourced from Russia.

Authorities in China’s Inner Mongolia province seized 10,100 crypto mining rigs from a government-operated tech park, according to local media.

A branch of the Development and Reform Commission in Bayannaoer city found an illicit mining operation at the park, local media reported, citing China’s official Xinhua News Agency.

The action comes days after the country’s top government agencies announced a renewed crackdown on crypto trading and mining. China’s highest economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, banned investment in new mining operations, and said all existing projects will be phased out.

The closure brings Inner Mongolia’s total to 45 mining projects shut down, saving the province 6.58 billion kWh of electricity – or 2 million tons of coal – a year, the article said.

The mine in question was consuming 1,104 kWh, according to the report, and was located at “SME [small and medium enterprises] Pioneer Park,” in the city’s Economic and Technological Development Zone.

Such zones and parks are areas where the government sets preferential policies such as reduced tax rates or cheap rent, usually for specific industries, hoping that hubs for innovation and development will flourish.

In the policy circular distributed Friday, central authorities told provinces and cities to stop all support of crypto mining firms, which would include any preferential treatment afforded to companies working in a government tech park.

In May, the State Council called on local governments to crack down on crypto mining. Inner Mongolia outlined a plan for shutting down the industry just days later. The latest policy gives a more comprehensive plan for the industry and gives control back to the central government.