Number of deaths from COVID-19 tops 1,000 in Ukraine

Nine people died of the novel coronavirus in Ukraine over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll from COVID-19 in the country up to 1,002, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov reported at a morning press briefing on June 21.

The number of the COVID-19 cases officially confirmed since the start of the pandemic in Ukraine has reached 36,560 as of 10 a.m. on June 21, Stepanov said. More than half of them — 19,049 — are active cases.

Ukraine has identified 735 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. Although it marks a slight decrease after three days of record-high numbers, it’s not significant.

This slight decrease is likely linked to the fact that fewer people get tested over the weekend. In the past, the number of new cases reported during the weekend was traditionally lower compared to weekdays.

Stepanov said Ukraine had performed 12,932 COVID-19 tests in the past 24 hours. It’s about 6,000 less than on June 20 and June 19. The number includes 9,441 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and 3,491 antibody tests (IFA).

The regions with the highest number of newly registered cases are Lviv Oblast (101), Rivne Oblast (96), Zakarpattia Oblast (80),  and the city of Kyiv (73).

Additionally, 103 patients have recovered, bringing the country’s total number of recoveries to 16,509. Over the past 24 hours, 149 people have been hospitalized.

Ukraine’s daily COVID-19 cases, deaths and recoveries from May 1 to June 20, 2020. All data were released by the Ministry of Health. ( Bermet Talant)

Ukraine’s daily new COVID-19 cases and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, the most accurate way of diagnosing the novel coronavirus, between May 1 and June 20, 2020. All data were published by the Ministry of Health. (Bermet Talant)

Among the new COVID-19 cases, 54 are children and 48 are medical workers. A total of 2,690 children and 5,998 medical workers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ukraine.

“Dear Ukrainians, you can see that we have been seeing a sharp increase in the incidence of the coronavirus disease,” Stepanov said on June 20. “Please follow the Ministry of Health’s recommendations, follow the restrictions imposed by the government.”

Since June 1, the Ukrainian government has begun to rapidly reopen the country’s economy, and the number of new COVID-19 cases has started to rise. On June 15, Ukraine reopened its borders and relaunched international passenger air travel.

“We all confused the easing of quarantine with the cancellation of all restrictions,” Stepanov said during his  June 16 press conference, after he was asked why Ukraine is witnessing a rise in new COVID-19 cases.

“(People) are neglecting all recommendations of the health ministry,” he added.

Growing caseload

During the June 18 briefing, Deputy Health Minister Viktor Lyashko presented graphs projecting the potential outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic for Ukraine.

According to models constructed by the Ministry of Health and the Kyiv School of Economics, Ukraine could have seen up to 145,000 deaths if the country had opted out of imposing quarantine measures.

A strict lockdown was imposed by the government on March 17, shutting down non-essential businesses and public transportation.

Still, Ukraine may see up to 7,000 deaths from COVID-19 by the end of the year if people continue to ignore the health ministry’s advice, Lyashko said.

According to him, the recent spike in new COVID-19 cases and deaths is not a result of increased testing but is directly caused by people defying government restrictions.