The minister has also explained, why tight bans were introduced in Ukraine at the onset of epidemic, when the number of new COVID-19 cases amounted to just hundreds, while no tough restrictions are being introduced today when the daily count is over 2,000.
Ukraine will return to strict quarantine if the COVID-19 incidence rate grows rapidly in all regions and hospital load exceeds 75%, says Health Minister Maksym Stepanov.
"If we say that the whole country must return [to strict quarantine], this means that in all cities, regions, we are experiencing a rapid growth [in new active COVID-19 cases] and that more than 75% of hospital beds are occupied, or the number of newly diagnosed patients exceeds all permitted indicators. It seems to me that we can prevent such a situation," Stepanov told journalists, speaking at the Verkhovna Rada, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
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The minister has also explained, why tight bans were introduced in Ukraine at the onset of epidemic, when the number of new COVID-19 cases amounted to just hundreds, while no tough restrictions are being introduced today when the daily count is over 2,000.
"If you remember late March and early April, our health care system wasn't completely prepared to respond to COVID-19. Doctors weren't aware of how to treat patients and what drugs to use, because it was a completely new disease. Hospitals were unprepared both from a professional point of view and in terms of equipment. It was very important to avoid the collapse of our health care system – the one we observed in Spain and Italy. It was necessary to prepare the health care system and prevent a sharp spike," Stepanov said.
The minister assured that thanks to the timely introduced quarantine measures, "we totally tackled the first coronavirus wave. That is, we didn't allow in the country those tragic developments we've observed in other countries, and this worked."
"If you look at how we are ready today, it’s impossible even to compare," the minister stressed.
According to Stepanov, in Ukraine, compared to the outbreak of the pandemic, the number of tests has increased almost 100 times - from 200 tests run daily to over 20,000.
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