Authorities in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan feel sufficiently confident that the measures they have taken so far to combat the spread of the coronavirus have been effective to the point that they can now begin the process of gradually easing restrictions put in place weeks ago to "flatten the curve."
Inevitably, there are now questions about just how effective the three countries have been in limiting with the spread of the coronavirus and what will happen as people start to leave their homes more often and businesses resume operations.
On this week's Majlis Podcast, RFE/RL's media-relations manager for South and Central Asia, Muhammad Tahir, moderates a discussion looking at what the situation is with the coronavirus in the three Central Asian countries and how the governments are moving forward with plans to restart their economies.
This week's guests are, from Almaty, Kazakhstan, Joanna Lillis, veteran reporter on Central Asia and author of Dark Shadows Inside The Secret World Of Kazakhstan; from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, one of the physicians who has been treating coronavirus patients, Dr. Nursultan Masylbekov; and from Prague, Alisher Sydyk, director of RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service, known locally as Ozodlik; and Bruce Pannier, the author of the Qishloq Ovozi blog.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5
Majlis Podcast: As It Begins To Reopen, Is Central Asia Getting It Right?
Listen to the podcast above or subscribe to the Majlis on iTunes or on Google Podcasts.