COVID-19 in Ukraine: 2,328 new infections, 37 dead, 48,992 active cases

Ukraine has identified 2,328 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said at the daily briefing held at 10 a.m. on Aug. 22.

“This is another record-breaking number of new cases,” Stepanov said.

At least 48,992 people are currently fighting the disease across Ukraine.

In the past 24 hours, Ukraine has recorded 37 deaths from COVID-19, 450 patients have been hospitalized and 657 people have recovered.

Ukraine’s daily COVID-19 cases, deaths and recoveries from July 1 to Aug. 21, 2020. All data were released by the Ministry of Health.

“I understand that the pandemic has made significant changes to our lives since its outbreak. However, we must not underestimate this disease. But this is our new reality and we have to act accordingly,” Stepanov said.

“We need to develop new habits. We do not cross the street on the red light, do we? So, we now need to get used to wearing a medical mask and avoiding mass gatherings,” he said.

The largest numbers of new cases were registered in Kharkiv Oblast (291), Odesa Oblast (210), Chernivtsi Oblast (208), Ternopil Oblast (207), the city of Kyiv (179), in Lviv Oblast (172) and in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (169).

The total number of infections identified in the country since the start of the pandemic stands at 102,971. A total of 51,735 people have recovered and 2,244 have died of the disease.

During the past 24 hours, laboratories have administered 22,207 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests across the country, Stepanov said during a briefing on Aug. 22. Additionally, they also carried out 21,153 antibody tests (IFA).

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. 21, 2020.

“You can notice that this is the record-breaking number of PCR tests performed. We set a goal for ourselves to reach a milestone of 30,000 PCR tests a day by September 15,” Stepanov said.

Since Aug. 3, new rules for the COVID-19 quarantine have come into force in Ukraine: 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 these categorizations. The levels are based on four indicators that are reviewed every five days.