The 27th annual Ulan Bator Book Festival is set to be held in the capital of Mongolia to promote reading culture, especially among children and young people, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The three-day festival starting on Friday will be held both online and offline for the first time, attracting around 500 authors, publishing houses, organizations as well as thousands of readers.

Co-organized by the city's cultural department and nongovernmental organization Nomiin Soyolt Yertunts (World of Book Culture) under the auspices of the country's education ministry, the festival will include a wide range of activities such as meetings between authors and book lovers, book exhibitions and the launch of new books.

As of Saturday, Mongolia has confirmed 193 COVID-19 infections, including four foreign nationals. 

All the cases are imported ones, mostly from Russia, with no local transmissions or deaths.