COVID-19 in Ukraine: 116 dead, 4,161 cases, 397 new infections

The number of officially confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ukraine has reached 4,161, as of 9 a.m. on April 16, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health.

Since the start of the outbreak, 116 people have died from the disease in Ukraine, an increase of eight since the previous report on April 15. In total, 186 people have recovered. 

Over the past 24 hours, Ukraine has identified a record-breaking 397 new COVID-19 cases.  Out of them, 104 are medical workers, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said during an online briefing on April 16. In total, 788 medical workers have contracted COVID-19, he added.

As of the morning of April 16, the largest number of coronavirus cases in Ukraine has been registered in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast (878 cases), Chernivtsi Oblast (662 cases), Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (401 cases), Ternopil Oblast (333 cases) and Vinnytsia Oblast (279 cases).

Kyiv has registered 32 new cases in the past 24 hours. To stop the spread of the virus, Stepanov called on all Ukrainians to stay home during the upcoming Easter holidays. Eastern Rite churches celebrate Easter on April 19.

Some priests have been defying the government-imposed quarantine measures. Over 100 clergymen have been diagnosed with COVID-19. 

During his April 15 briefing, Stepanov said that Ukraine had received $150 million from the World Bank to fight COVID-19. “Regarding today’s record (number of newly registered cases), it’s untimely to talk about loosening quarantine measures,” he said.

“It will be possible only when we see a steady decrease in the number of newly registered cases,” he added.

On April 15, Stepanov said that Ukraine has 200,000 polymerase chain reaction tests, the most accurate way of diagnosing COVID-19, ready for use.

As of April 16, Ukraine has conducted a total of 42,823 PCR tests, according to the government’s coronavirus tracker website. However, that number is likely much higher than the total number of people tested.

During a briefing on April 13, Stepanov said that Ukraine is conducting 2,500-3,000 PCR tests daily and that it had tested 11,136 people in total.

In an April 12 interview, Deputy Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said that his ministry had started checking all patients with pneumonia or high fevers for COVID-19, which it previously had not done.

According to Lyashko, Ukraine is currently following the “optimistic scenario” for its battle with the COVID-19 pandemic. That scenario foresees no more than 2% of the population becoming infected with the coronavirus during the outbreak, Lyashko said in an interview with Ukraine’s LB.ua news site published on April 12. Ukrainian hospitals can easily handle that number of patients, he said.

On April 13, during an appearance on the talk show Svoboda Slova with Savik Shuster, Lyashko said that the country can handle up to 3,500 people simultaneously in intensive care.

“It will allow us to make it through the coronavirus sickness, while simultaneously treating people for heart attacks, strokes and other urgent conditions,” he added.

Quarantine continues

Quarantine measures put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19 will likely be extended until May, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said during a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on April 8.

However, it is too early to say when the quarantine will end, as the country is on the verge of a peak in the spread of coronavirus, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said in a video released on the ministry’s Facebook page on April 7.

Stepanov warned that the number of patients was sharply increasing to the point of overloading the medical system.

“To put it simply, the number of patients is increasing so much that there are not enough doctors to help them, nor medicines, nor beds in hospitals,” he said while thanking businesses and volunteers for their support.

As of April 9, 37 state laboratories and three private ones are processing COVID-19 tests, Ihor Kuzin, acting head of the health ministry’s Center for Public Health, said during a briefing. A COVID-19 patient can be considered healthy only after two negative PCR tests.

Kuzin also said that it is technically impossible to conduct mass testing and it is unnecessary, echoing an earlier statement by Deputy Health Minister Lyashko on April 7.

Changing protocol

On April 7, Lyashko clarified the protocol to follow in cases of suspected COVID-19 infections, saying that an ambulance won’t come to test every suspected case. First, a patient should call a general practitioner, he said. Only after this consultation can the patient be tested for COVID-19 — either by the doctor or by a mobile testing brigade. The samples will then be analyzed in a laboratory.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Ukraine is expected to reach its apex on April 17, Lyashko said in an interview on April 12.

To prevent the rapid spread of the coronavirus, the government has intensified quarantine measures starting on April 6. It is now forbidden to go out without medical masks and visit public places like parks, squares, recreation areas, forest parks and coastal zones.

People over 60 are required to stay home.

Globally, COVID-19 has killed 134,669 people as of the morning of April 15, and infected over 2 million people; 515,147 patients have recovered.

The United States, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France are struggling the most to curb the spread of the disease.