Kazakhstan: Legal Response to Covid-19

Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country in the world by land size, with a population of 19.5 million. The Covid-19 pandemic hit the country in five waves, with the highest number of cases reported in the biggest cities of Almaty and Astana. The second wave, which occurred in the summer of 2020, was the deadliest and led to President Tokayev declaring 13 July 2020 as a day of national mourning for the victims of the virus. According to the official data, by May 2023, the pandemic caused nearly 1.5 million cases and 19,000 deaths in the country. It revealed systemic weaknesses in the healthcare system, such as inadequate health policies, broken medical supply chains, unprepared healthcare workforce, inaccessible high-quality healthcare, the acute shortage of essential medicines, lack of hospital beds, and pandemic unpreparedness. The country’s political regime and the leadership succession have influenced Kazakhstan’s approach to managing the pandemic. Its geopolitical context and close ties with neighbouring countries like China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan have also shaped its anti-pandemic policy. Kazakhstan shares borders with Russia, China, and several Central Asian nations, necessitating cooperation to manage cross-border movements and potential transmission risks.