By her reference to the “new flu” in connection with which the participants will be wearing masks, Gulnara Zhunusova, must have meant the H1N1 flu, better known as “swine flu”. Several cases of this disease have been treated in Kazakhstan.

Meanwhile, according to Stan-TV channel, the decision to use the masks in the contest was not voluntary: the instructions came from local authorities. “The city administration has put the organizers into a stalemate. Everybody, including the models, should be wearing medical masks,” Stan-TV reports.

Allegedly, Zhunusova therefore came up with the idea that models should wear hand-made “accessories” decorated with ornaments and embroidered with bedazzled wear.

To fight the spread of the virus, the local authorities have taken certain measures: in Astana for example, workers of public transport, sellers, and other people whose work is connected with meeting lots of people are obliged to wear masks.