The number of officially confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ukraine has reached 3,372 as of 9 a.m. on April 14, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health.
Ninety-eight people have died from the disease, an increase of five since the previous report on April 13. In total, 119 people have recovered since the beginning of the outbreak in Ukraine.
On April 11, for the first time, the number of recovered patients outpaced the number of fatalities.
As of the morning of April 14, the largest number of coronavirus cases in Ukraine has been registered in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast (775 cases), Chernivtsi Oblast (546 cases), Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (332 cases), Ternopil Oblast (280 cases) and Vinnytsia Oblast (200).
Over the last 24 hours, Ukraine has identified 270 new COVID-19 cases. Out of the 270, 64 are medical workers, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said during an online briefing on April 14. In total, 594 medical workers have contracted COVID-19, he added.
During the previous day’s briefing, Stepanov said that Ukraine is conducting 2,500-3,000 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, the most accurate way to diagnose COVID-19, daily. Ukraine has used these tests on 11,136 people in total, he said. A day earlier, his deputy said Ukraine had conducted over 30,000 tests.
In an April 12 interview, Deputy Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said that his ministry had started checking all patients with pneumonia or high fevers for COVID-19, which it previously had not done.
According to Lyashko, Ukraine is currently following the “optimistic scenario” for its battle with the COVID-19 pandemic. That scenario foresees no more than 2% of the population becoming infected with the coronavirus during the outbreak, Lyashko said in an interview with Ukraine’s LB.ua news site published on April 12. Ukrainian hospitals can easily handle that number of patients, he said.
On April 13, during an appearance on the talk show Svoboda Slova with Savik Shuster, Lyashko said that the country can handle up to 3,500 people simultaneously in intensive care.
“It will allow us to make it through the coronavirus sickness, while simultaneously treating people for heart attacks, strokes and other urgent conditions,” he added.
Quarantine continues
Quarantine measures put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19 will likely be extended until May, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said during a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on April 8.
However, it is too early to say when the quarantine will end, as the country is on the verge of a peak in the spread of coronavirus, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said in a video released on the ministry’s Facebook page on April 7.
Stepanov warned that the number of patients was sharply increasing to the point of overloading the medical system.
“To put it simply, the number of patients is increasing so much that there are not enough doctors to help them, nor medicines, nor beds in hospitals,” he said while thanking businesses and volunteers for their support.
As of April 9, 37 state laboratories and three private ones are processing COVID-19 tests, Ihor Kuzin, acting head of the health ministry’s Center for Public Health, said during a briefing. A COVID-19 patient can be considered healthy only after two negative PCR tests.
Kuzin also said that it is technically impossible to conduct mass testing and it is unnecessary, echoing an earlier statement by Deputy Health Minister Lyashko on April 7.
Changing protocol
On April 7, Lyashko clarified the protocol to follow in cases of suspected COVID-19 infections, saying that an ambulance won’t come to test every suspected case. First, a patient should call a general practitioner, he said. Only after this consultation can the patient be tested for COVID-19 — either by the doctor or by a mobile testing brigade. The samples will then be analyzed in a laboratory.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Ukraine is expected to reach its apex on April 17, Lyashko said in an interview on April 12.
To prevent the rapid spread of the coronavirus, the government has intensified quarantine measures starting on April 6. It is now forbidden to go out without medical masks and visit public places like parks, squares, recreation areas, forest parks and coastal zones.
People over 60 are required to stay home.
Globally, COVID-19 has killed 119,718 people as of the morning of April 14, and infected nearly 2 million people; 452,178 patients have recovered.
The United States, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France are struggling the most to curb the spread of the disease.
CORONAVIRUS IN UKRAINE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- As of April 14: 98 people have died from COVID-19 in Ukraine; 119 people have recovered.
- As of April 11, 6 Ukrainians have died from the novel coronavirus abroad; 19 recovered. 172 are currently undergoing treatment abroad.
- 3,372 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ukraine as of early April 14. The first case was identified on March 3.
- Ukraine has extended its quarantine measures until April 24.
- Infographic of quarantine measures in place until April 24.
- The measures shuttered most everything but hospitals, supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, gas stations, and other critical enterprises.
- How the Ukrainian government has been responding: TIMELINE
- Misinformation on coronavirus is going viral in Ukraine.
- Foreign Ministry: What you need to know about traveling to and from Ukraine now
- Why the Kyiv Post isn’t making its coverage free in the times of COVID-19.
- Coronavirus stops the Kyiv Post’s print edition for now.
- Where to buy masks.
Effects on the economy:
- COVID-19 is already inflicting harm on Ukraine’s economy.
- Invisible Threat Lurks Undetected: Top stories from March 27, 2020 PDF edition.
- The former minister of economy says half a million Ukrainians may lose their jobs in the COVID-19 crisis.
