While the current quarantine helps, it is not enough, says the Ukrainian Health Minister.
We will see an increase in the number of Covid-19-cases in the next couple of weeks, says the Ukrainian health minister Maksym Stepanov, according to Unian. This will happen despite the several regions introducing a tougher quarantine to stop the virus.
“The situation remains quite tense. We predict a surge in the number of patients and, as a result, the number of hospitalizations within at least the next week or two,” he said, pointing out that there is a delay from introducing new measures until it is visible.
Eleven regions in Ukraine are currently in the red quarantine zone. Only three areas – Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia, and Chernivtsi region – are seeing a stabilization of cases. In the last 24 hours, Ukraine recorded 11,226 new cases. The total number of confirmed cases in Ukraine is now 1,674,168, while 1,313,481 patients have recovered. 32,825 have died.
“In the past day, 11,226 people tested positive for the coronavirus, including 491 children and 335 healthcare workers. Some 5,558 new patients were hospitalized,” Maksym Stepanov wrote on Facebook.
Will vaccinate 60 percent of people in 2021
Ukraine has started vaccinating people, but the process is slow. 18,668 people in Ukraine received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine yesterday. It is better than a couple of weeks ago, where the daily number was around 10,000, but still a low number.
However, according to Stepanov, it is the goal to vaccinate at least 60 percent of the adult population this year.
“By the end of the year, we must vaccinate at least 60% of adults aged 18 and over… If the required amount of vaccine is available, we can vaccinate up to 5 million people per month easily,” said Stepanov, according to Ukrinform.
