Kazakhstan to call up reservists to fight coronavirus, unemployment

Kazakhstan may call up thousands of reservists for up to three months to help combat the coronavirus outbreak and also provide temporary employment to those who have lost jobs in lockdowns and business closures, the government said on Friday. Defence Minister Nurlan Yermekbayev said it was up to the governor of each province to decide how many reservists, men with the rank of sergeant or lower, aged up to 50 and officers aged up to 60, to call up to the so-called territorial forces.

Preference will be given to volunteers, and younger and unemployed people, he told a briefing. The oil-exporting Central Asian nation has locked down most of its provinces and large cities and has reported 444 virus infections, with three deaths.