COVID-19 in Ukraine: 2,141 new infections, 30 dead, 61,544 active cases

Ukraine has identified 2,141 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said during his morning briefing on Aug. 31. As of 9 a.m., there are 61,544 active cases across Ukraine.

In the past 24 hours, Ukraine has recorded 30 deaths from COVID-19, 309 patients have been hospitalized and 380 people have recovered.

The largest numbers of new cases were recorded in the city of Kyiv (277) and in Odesa (189), Kharkiv (187), Ivano-Frnakivsk (165), Chernivtsi (158), Lviv (154) and Ternopil oblasts (149).

The total number of infections identified in the country since the start of the pandemic stands at 121,215. A total of 57,114 people have recovered and 2,557 have died of the disease.

Ukraine’s daily COVID-19 cases, deaths and recoveries from July 16 to Aug. 30, 2020. All data were released by the Ministry of Health.

During the past 24 hours, laboratories have administered 14,109 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests across the country, Stepanov said during his briefing. They also carried out 4,053 antibody tests (IFA).

Over the past week, Ukraine has identified 14,358 cases. Just two weeks ago, during the week of Aug. 10-16, that number was noticeably lower: 10,863. During Aug. 17-23, that number was 13,937.

The weekly numbers of hospitalized patients have also recently increased, Stepanov said. Last week, 2,829 people were hospitalized, while earlier in August the number was 2,699. The hospitalization numbers have grown significantly compared to May, when 749 patients were hospitalized during one of the weeks.

Over the past week, laboratories have performed 124,922 PCR tests. The weekly numbers have grown significantly since several months ago: During one week in May, they administered under half that number: 58,346 PCR tests.

As of Aug. 31, 9,972 hospital beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients across Ukraine. More than 11,000 beds are supplied with oxygen, Stepanov said. The Ministry of Health aims to increase that number so that 80% of all hospital beds for treating COVID-19 patients will be provided with oxygen. Currently, only 32% of the beds are supplied with oxygen.

Ukraine’s daily new COVID-19 cases and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, the most accurate way of diagnosing the novel coronavirus, between July 16 and Aug. 30, 2020. (Bermet Talant)

Current quarantine restrictions

Since Aug. 3, new rules for Ukraine’s COVID-19 quarantine have come into force: communities, rather than entire regions, are now divided into green, yellow, orange and red levels of severity of the spread of COVID-19. The authorities in districts, cities, and towns will have to tighten or relax quarantine restrictions in accordance with the new categories. The levels are based on four indicators that are reviewed every five days.

Starting on Sept. 1, the government will tighten the quarantine restrictions in the green level regions, where the virus is spreading more slowly. In these regions, the government will ban discos, nightclubs and restaurants where people gather to dance or organize mass events.

The full list of regions and their zone categorization is available here (in Ukrainian).

To contain the spread of the virus, Ukraine closed its borders to foreign citizens for a month on Aug. 28. The ban will last until Sep. 28.

Foreigners with permanent residency permits and refugees will be exempt from the ban, as will transit passengers who can confirm that they will leave the country in no more than two days.

The ban also will not apply to citizens invited to the country by Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs or members of diplomatic missions and international organizations.

The full list of foreign citizens who are exempted from the ban is available here (in English).