No coronavirus relief fund envisaged in 2021 national budget draft – parliament speaker

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, Dmytro Razumkov says no coronavirus relief fund is envisaged in the 2021 national budget draft.

The move was initiated by the Cabinet of Ministers, he said, as reported by TSN.ua on October 8.

Read alsoUkraine virtually runs out of coronavirus relief funds – mediaThe parliament plans to separately provide funds for vaccination of the population against coronavirus, i.e. UAH 2.6 billion (US$91.8 million), as well as UAH 1 billion (US$35.3 million) for the support of schools in fight against the epidemic.

"Everything else is included in the Health Ministry's budget. When we created a separate 'coronavirus relief fund,' it was not envisaged in the [national] budget. It is correct when the funds are already allocated for the relevant ministry, for effective fight [against the virus]," Razumkov said.

Corona relief funds

Almost all the funds envisaged to fight against coronavirus will be allocated to the Health Ministry. It is almost UAH 159 billion (US$5.6 billion), according to the preliminary estimates.

Razumkov explained the coronavirus relief fund in 2020 had been created after the first COVID-19 cases in Ukraine in March, as well as there was a need to resist the epidemic promptly since the 2020 national budget had not envisaged the relevant funds.

• Background
• Almost UAH 25 million (US$882,768) in compensation was paid to Ukrainians who were self-isolated over COVID-19.
• Some 20,000 people, including 5,000 healthcare workers, have received money from the coronavirus relief fund since the start of the epidemic.
• Corona relief funds are accrued from the sixth day of self-isolation, while the first five days are paid by the employers.