Ukraine sees further daily increases in number of COVID-19 patients

Despite the Ukrainian government’s move to gradually lift nationwide quarantine restrictions, the country is still registering daily increases in the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the Health Ministry and other officials.

As of the morning of June 6, Ukraine reports 26,514 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 550 new cases revealed in the last 24 hours, the second-highest daily increase in cases since May 1.

Since the start of the pandemic, 777 Ukrainians are confirmed to have died, while doctors say that 11,812 patients have recovered from the illness.

Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said on June 6 that more than 5,000 Ukrainian medial workers have contracted the disease.

At least six of the country’s provinces, namely Volyn, Zhytomyr, Donetsk, Lviv, Rivne, and Chernivtsi oblasts, as well as the capital Kyiv, are not ready for full reopening, officials said on June 6, adding that the number of nationwide cases has continued to grow over the last seven days.

In the city of Kyiv, 85 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours — the highest number of new cases throughout the country — with 25 patients hospitalized.

“Notably, this is in fact the highest number of people hospitalized over 24 hours since the very beginning of the pandemic,” Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said early on June 6, adding that two more people had died.

The number of the sick continues to grow in the country’s Armed Forces too: a total of 135 cases have been revealed among military personnel, with 4 new patients added to the tally on June 6, officials said.

The country’s government on June 3 stated its intention to relaunch domestic air travel from June 5 and also gave the green light for the full reopening of cafes and restaurants from the same day, despite the possibility of a deteriorating epidemiological situation in most of Ukraine’s regions and warnings from medics.

As chief public health physician Viktor Lyashko noted on June 4, in case of a continuously growing number of cases, quarantine restrictions can be reactivated across the country, particularly in Kyiv.

The regional government of Zhytomyr Oblast on June 6 decided to maintain its lockdown on venues serving food and drink, and on hotels, as well as all mass events, including religious gathering to celebrate the Christian holiday of Pentecost, which is due on June 7.

“In the oblast, there will be regular inspections of markets and grocery shops, as well as public transportation system, on the subject of quarantine effort,” the Zhytomyr government said early on June 6.

For the third day in a row, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ukraine has increased, confirmed Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at a meeting on the coronavirus pandemic on June 5 chaired by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The government said that if the trend continues, the easing of quarantine measures could worsen the epidemiological situation in the country.

Zelensky also appeared on June 6 to express concerns over whether the nation and its people had started to relax social distancing measures too soon. In a statement, Zelensky said that “thoughtlessness” could pose a significant risk to people as the country emerges from lockdown.

“People need to be reminded that thoughtlessness regarding coronavirus protection poses great threats during the COVID-19 epidemic. It is difficult to find a balance between returning to normal life and safety. The invisible danger is the worst because today you do not see the point in the mask, and tomorrow the number of patients will grow,” Zelensky said, according to his press service.