The Belarusian Ministry of Defence is going to purchase 1000 body bags. True or fake?

Fister LLC responded to the request of the Ministry of Defenсe, saying that it does not produce or sell «sanitary bags for transportation of bodies». In its reply, BelSudExpertObespecheniye indicates that it can produce 1000 bags for transportation of the bodies of the dead within 10 calendar days. The cost of one bag varies from 9,9 to 13,9 Belarusian rubles (depending on the version).

Flagshtok called the author of the response letter – Veronika Kovalchuk, the head of the department of marketing and logistics of the enterprise. She confirmed that she had prepared this answer for the Ministry of Defenсe.

It is hard to give a definite reason for the purchase of the bags. It should be noted that the system of the Ministry of Defenсe includes a number of medical institutions (medical centers in Grodno, Minsk, Barysau, Baranavichiy, etc.). The military of the Armed Forces of Belarus, members of their families, as well as military pensioners can receive medical care in these medical centers. Patients die in any health care facility. Therefore, the purchase of «body bags» is not something unusual. The question about the number of bags to be purchased –1000 items – remains open.

If we divide 1000 bags among four medical centers of the ministry, we get 250 for each. At the same time, the purchase of 375 to 520 «body bags» for one hospital was designated as «normal», taking into account the annual need for such «consumables» (adjusting for the excess mortality from COVID-19 in health care facilities).