There are now 21 confirmed cases of the novel COVID-19 coronavirus in Ukraine, an increase from the 16 reported on Wednesday, March 18.
The updated figure from the Ukrainian Health Ministry's Public Health Center represents the number of confirmed cases as of 20:00 Kyiv time on Thursday, March 19.
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In particular, the virological reference laboratory of Ukraine's Public Health Center has reported 17 confirmed cases: Chernivtsi region (10), Zhytomyr region (1), Kyiv region (2), Donetsk region (1), Ivano-Frankivsk region (1), and the city of Kyiv (2).
What is more, regional laboratories reported three more confirmed cases: Dnipropetrovsk region (2) and Zhytomyr region (1).
Another case was confirmed in the city of Kyiv.
The virological reference laboratory of Ukraine's Public Health Center says it checks not only suspected cases, but also established contacts. In total, it has examined over 700 samples.
"Most of people who are affected by the novel coronavirus experience it as the common acute respiratory syndrome. Actually, this disease is a kind of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), but it is caused by a previously unknown pathogen," the center said.
In particular, the World Health Organization estimates the death rate from COVID-19 at 3.4%. The Ukrainian Health Ministry says that 96.6% of COVID-19 cases will not be fatal.
