Protesters on the streets across Belarus are increasingly euphoric, as it appears increasingly likely they may successfully oust Belarus' self-appointed President Alexander Lukashenko. But there is a price to pay for the mass demonstrations that have swept the country: the total number of confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) cases reached 69,589 as of August 17, according to the Ministry of Health.

Belarus has been badly hit by the pandemic after Lukashenko refused to acknowledge the spread of the virus and took almost no action to contain it. He infamously advised the population to wash their hands in vodka, and “maybe drink a little – but not too much!”

Anger at the authorities' failure to act in the interests of public health is one of the motivations for the popular uprising that followed Lukashenko’s attempts to falsify the results of the August 9 elections that gave him 80% of the vote.

Another 82 novel coronavirus cases were confirmed in Belarus in the last 24 hours, 10 cases less than on the previous day, bringing the overall number of such cases to 69,589, the country’ health ministry reported on August 17.

"As many as 69,589 people (or about 0.74% out of the country’s population of 9.41mn – TASS) have tested positive for COVID-19," it said, adding that the daily tally was 82.

"A total of 613 coronavirus patients with a number of chronic diseases have died since the epidemic outbreak," it said, adding that three patients died during the past day.

According to the latest update, as many as 67,149 coronavirus patients have recovered from the disease, including 77 in the past 24 hours. A total of 1,426,766 people, or 15.2% of the population have been tested for the novel coronavirus.

While the population has acted without the help of the government and many wear masks or practise social distancing, the mass demonstrations are likely to result in a spike in new infections. August 16 saw the largest demonstration in the republic’s history, when over 200,000 people gathered in Independence Square and similarly large demonstrations were seen across the entire country.

The country’s health ministry anticipates a second wave of the coronavirus outbreak in November-December.