COVID-19 in Ukraine: 2,836 new infections, 50 dead, 69,327 active cases

Ukraine has identified a record-breaking 2,836 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said during his morning briefing on Sept. 5. As of 9 a.m., there are 69,327 active cases across Ukraine.

In the past 24 hours, Ukraine has recorded 50 deaths from COVID-19; 460 patients have been hospitalized and 1,036 people have recovered.

“As of this morning, the total number of patients in hospitals with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis is 7,467. I want to remind you that in mid-July, for example, we had this number at 3,500,” Stepanov said.

The largest numbers of new cases were recorded in Kharkiv Oblast (380), Kyiv city (315), Ternopil Oblast (226), Odesa Oblast (222), Lviv Oblast (195), Chernivtsi Oblast (172) and Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (166).

The total number of infections identified in the country since the start of the pandemic stands at 133,787. A total of 61,649 people have recovered and 2,811 have died of the disease.

As of yesterday, Ukraine was 14th in the world by the number of new daily cases, according to statistics website Worldometer. Ukraine was also 12th in the world by number of active cases and 34th by the total number of deaths from COVID-19.

During the past 24 hours, laboratories have administered 25,229 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests across the country, Stepanov said during his briefing. They also carried out 21,662 antibody tests (IFA).

During his briefing two days earlier on Sept. 2, Stepanov said that 44% of available hospital beds for treating patients with suspected COVID-19 are currently occupied. Because the number of hospitalized patients is rapidly growing, the health ministry is getting new hospitals involved almost every day, he said.

On Sept. 1, the new school year began in Ukraine. Children are physically attending classes across the country, except in areas with the heaviest rates of infection, which are labeled “red.”

Current quarantine restrictions

Since Aug. 3, new rules for Ukraine’s COVID-19 quarantine have come into force. Communities, rather than entire regions, are divided into green, yellow, orange and red by level of severity of COVID-19 spread. 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 from Sept. 7, two regional capitals, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil, will be moved into the red zone, Stepanov said on Sept. 4. The cities of Lviv, Kharkiv and Lutsk will be designated as the orange zone, he added.

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

Ukraine’s COVID-10 threat levels that come into force on Sept. 7, 2020. (Public Health Center of Ukraine)

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 Sept. 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 exempt from the ban is available here (in English).

Ukraine’s daily COVID-19 cases, deaths and recoveries from July 16 to Sept. 4, 2020. All data were released by the Ministry of Health.

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 Sept. 3, 2020.