Kazakhstan heads for second COVID-19 lockdown after botched reopening

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered his government on Monday to prepare a package of coronavirus restrictions similar to the hard lockdown that the Central Asian nation imposed in March-May after a recent sharp rise in infections. Tokayev gave his cabinet two days to draft the new measures and scolded senior officials, formally reprimanding a few, for botching the reopening and allowing the outbreak to resurge in the country of 19 million. 'In foreign observers' opinion, the situation in Kazakhstan is critical, on the brink of spiraling out of control,' he said, adding that the government was considering several lockdown options and ways to support the economy.