New numbers on Saturday show that the virus is still not under control. It is at this point, however, unlikely that there will be a recent nationwide lockdown.
20,341 new Covid-19-cases were reported on Saturday, according to Unian. It is the largest daily rise since the pandemic started. Simultaneously, Kyiv reported 2,053 new cases in the Ukrainian capital, which is also a new high and makes the authorities worry.
“As of April 3, 2021, some 20,341 people, including 809 children and 473 healthcare workers, tested positive for the coronavirus,” Ukraine’s Health Ministry reported on Telegram on Saturday, and referring to that 5,186 new patients were hospitalized, and 396 died.
9.166 coronavirus patients recovered in the last 24 hours. In total, 34,075 people have officially lost their lives to the virus since the pandemic started.
New restrictions on the way
Several Ukrainian regions are currently in the red zone and have introduced stricter restrictions to combat the virus. Among them is Kyiv, where the Metro, buses, and trams will only carry workers with special passes, and schools and kindergartens will close.
“We have lines of ambulances in front of hospitals. We have no choice. Otherwise, there will be hundreds of deaths every day,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko recently said.
Ukraine has started vaccinating but at a slow pace, making it unlikely to have a significant effect in the near future. Health Minister Maksym Stepanov recently said that he is worried.
“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.
No nationwide lockdown at this point
Despite Stepanov’s worries, there will not be a national lockdown in Ukraine at this point, according to Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Oleh Nemchinov, reports Ukrinform.
“The issue of introducing nationwide restrictions in Ukraine is not being discussed now. We encourage local communities to make their own decisions within their competence, especially in the territories and regions where the red level of epidemic danger has already been introduced,” Nemchinov said.
Kyiv City and the ten regions: Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia, Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Chernihiv, and Chernivtsi are currently red zones. It means that they have to introduce strict measures to stop the spread of the virus, such as closing all not essential shops.
