Alexander Lukashenko has refused to implement a lockdown in his country and said countries enforcing tough measures have fallen victim to “frenzy and psychosis”.
As he took part in an ice hockey match on Sunday, Mr Lukashenko told a reporter it was “better to die standing on your feet than to live on your knees,” according to Sky News.
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Asked if anything would stop him playing ice hockey, Mr Lukashenko said: “It is possible, but why? I don’t understand. There are no viruses here.
“Did you see any of them flying around? I don’t see them too. This is a fridge.”
Meanwhile, the country’s football matches have continued as normal, though some spectators had their temperatures checked on entry.
He also said daily shots of vodka would “poison” Covid-19, but cautioned against drinking at work.
“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,” he said, according to The Times.
“You should drink the equivalent of 40-50ml of rectified spirit daily. But not at work.”
Mr Lukashenko advised repeated visits to the sauna, or banya, followed by up to 100ml of vodka.
“Go to the banya. Two or three times a week will do you good,” he said.
“When you come out of the sauna, not only wash your hands, but also your insides with 100 millilitres [of vodka].”
In another speech earlier this month, Mr Lukashenko told ministers people would be healed if they worked on tractors.
“There shouldn’t be any panic. You just have to work, especially now, in a village,” he said. “Tractors will cure everyone. The field heals everyone.”
ShapeCreated with Sketch.Coronavirus culture from rooftops, windows and balconies
Show all 15
leftCreated with Sketch.rightCreated with Sketch.
1/15
A rose is delivered by drone to a woman on Mother’s Day in Jounieh, Lebanon
AFP/Getty
2/15
Women dance on their balcony as a radio station plays music for a flash mob to raise spirits in Rome
Reuters
3/15
A skeleton stands on a balcony in Frankfurt, Germany
AP
4/15
The film Le ragazze di Piazza di Spagna is projected on a building in Rome
AP
5/15
A woman uses a basket tied to a rope to pull a delivery of groceries up to her balcony in Naples, Italy
EPA
6/15
DJ Francesco Cellini plays for his neighbours from the rooftop terrace of his flat block in Rome
Reuters
7/15
A woman gestures from her balcony in Barcelona
EPA
8/15
Cellist Karina Nunez performs for her neighbours at the balcony of her flat in Panama City
Reuters
9/15
DJ Nash Petrovic live streams a set from his roof in Brooklyn
Reuters
10/15
People applaud medical workers from their balconies in Modiin, Israel
Reuters
11/15
A Brooklyn resident relaxes in a hammock hung on their balcony
Reuters
12/15
Residents toast during a “safe distance” aperitif time between neighbours in Anderlecht, Belgium
Reuters
13/15
Musician Adam Moser plays for neighbours from his balcony in Budapest, Hungary
Reuters
14/15
A man and his son on their balcony in Brooklyn
Reuters
15/15
A man sits alone on a roof terrace in Rome
Reuters
1/15
A rose is delivered by drone to a woman on Mother’s Day in Jounieh, Lebanon
AFP/Getty
2/15
Women dance on their balcony as a radio station plays music for a flash mob to raise spirits in Rome
Reuters
3/15
A skeleton stands on a balcony in Frankfurt, Germany
AP
4/15
The film Le ragazze di Piazza di Spagna is projected on a building in Rome
AP
5/15
A woman uses a basket tied to a rope to pull a delivery of groceries up to her balcony in Naples, Italy
EPA
6/15
DJ Francesco Cellini plays for his neighbours from the rooftop terrace of his flat block in Rome
Reuters
7/15
A woman gestures from her balcony in Barcelona
EPA
8/15
Cellist Karina Nunez performs for her neighbours at the balcony of her flat in Panama City
Reuters
9/15
DJ Nash Petrovic live streams a set from his roof in Brooklyn
Reuters
10/15
People applaud medical workers from their balconies in Modiin, Israel
Reuters
11/15
A Brooklyn resident relaxes in a hammock hung on their balcony
Reuters
12/15
Residents toast during a “safe distance” aperitif time between neighbours in Anderlecht, Belgium
Reuters
13/15
Musician Adam Moser plays for neighbours from his balcony in Budapest, Hungary
Reuters
14/15
A man and his son on their balcony in Brooklyn
Reuters
15/15
A man sits alone on a roof terrace in Rome
Reuters
Fewer than 100 coronavirus cases and no deaths have been reported in the former Soviet state of 9.5 million people.
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