The number of officially confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ukraine has reached 35,825 as of 10 a.m. on June 20, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said at a morning press briefing.
Ukraine has identified 841 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, a decrease from the 921 new cases recorded the previous day, but still the second-highest number of daily new cases ever recorded.
The regions with the highest number of newly registered cases are Lviv Oblast (139), Zakarpattia Oblast (109), Rivne Oblast (83) and the city of Kyiv (76).
Over the past 24 hours, nine people have died of the virus, bringing the total death toll from COVID-19 in the country up to 994.
Additionally, 373 patients have recovered, bringing country’s total number of recoveries to 16,406. Over the past 24 hours, 180 people have been hospitalized.
Among the new COVID-19 cases, 66 are children and 63 are medical workers. A total of 2,636 children and 5,950 medical workers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ukraine.
During his morning briefing on June 20, Stepanov said that Ukraine had performed 19,136 COVID-19 tests in the past 24 hours. That includes 11,162 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and 7,974 antibody tests (IFA).
“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.”
Ukraine’s daily COVID-19 cases, deaths and recoveries from May 1 to June 19, 2020. All data were released by the Ministry of Health. (Bermet Talant)
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.
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 19, 2020. All data were published by the Ministry of Health.
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.
CORONAVIRUS IN UKRAINE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- As of 10 a.m. on June 20: 994 people have died from the disease in Ukraine and 16,406 have recovered.
- 35,825 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Ukraine as of June 20. The first case was identified on March 3.
- Ukraine entered the fourth stage of lifting quarantine on June 10.
- Indoor restaurants, domestic flights resumed on June 5, international flights on June 15
- How the Ukrainian government has been responding: TIMELINE
- Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro subways reopened on May 25.
- Why the Kyiv Post isn’t making its coverage free in the times of COVID-19.
- With international travel on hold, Ukrainians prepare to travel across Ukraine
- TripsGuard website tracks coronavirus travel restrictions in 84 nations.
- Where to buy masks.
