Parliament votes for mass COVID-19 testing in Ukraine

Ukraine’s parliament has passed a law aiming to launch mass coronavirus testing in the country, improve the working conditions of doctors and increase the Ukrainian health care system’s ability to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Bill No. 3380, introduced to the parliament by Olga Stefanyshyna, a lawmaker from the 20-member Golos (“Voice”) party, received the support of 336 lawmakers during an emergency parliamentary session on May 7.

According to the bill, Ukraine’s Ministry of Health must provide mass testing in outpatient and inpatient settings for:

• people with COVID-19 symptoms;
• those who came into contact with people confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus;
• doctors working with COVID-19 patients;
• the National Police, National Guard and other workers involved in activities related to COVID-19 prevention, regardless of whether they have come into contact with infected people.

Stefanyshyna said that Ukraine ranks 107th in the world by the number of COVID-19 tests performed. Poland conducts three times as many tests per million people. Belarus does seven times more and Germany conducts ten times more, she added.

According to the bill, Ukraine must also ensure mass testing by strengthening the capacity of health care facilities to treat COVID-19 patients and by improving the working conditions for medical staff.

The bill also stipulates that the existing testing algorithms should be updated in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Additionally, the law amends Ukraine’s healthcare legislation, allowing interns and medical workers without confirmed qualifications to treat COVID-19 patients on a voluntary basis in line with restrictions established by the Ministry of Health.

The bill provides for a 100% increase of temporary disability benefits for front-line medical workers who are forced to go into self-isolation, regardless of the length of their service.

Temporarily unemployed citizens who receive treatment in healthcare facilities or undergo self-isolation under medical supervision will receive monetary assistance to the sum of 50% of average income.

The bill also obliges Ukraine’s health ministry to provide instructions and proper training for medical workers and determine which hospitals should admit the first wave of COVID-19 patients and which ones should begin taking patients only as more cases arise.

It also states that the health ministry should publish daily information on the results of COVID-19 testing and the number of tests performed in outpatient and inpatient settings. The ministry also has to provide weekly information on the procurement, delivery and distribution of medicines and medical equipment to fight COVID-19 in Ukraine. The amounts of the equipment, its cost and the sources of money to pay for it should also be included.