Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov has explained the need to strictly comply with a lockdown introduced from January 8 to January 24.
"Now it is very important to observe all measures for these 16 days. Because now the public is actively discussing feasibility of introducing these restrictions. The number of new COVID-19 cases is decreasing. Indeed, the situation has stabilized, but it still remains quite tense," he said at a briefing on Friday, an UNIAN correspondent reports.
Read alsoCOVID-19: Over 5,000 new active cases reported as of Jan 8According to Stepanov, the opinion of Ukraine's leading epidemiologists and infectious disease experts was taken into account when introducing quarantine.
"So, the forecasts of all our leading experts in the field of epidemiology indicate a gradual increase in the number of COVID-19 patients during January-February and a heavier load on the healthcare system. In particular, we will now have a seasonal increase in influenza cases. This disease, which is transmitted in the same way as COVID-19, causes the same complications as COVID-19. And this is an additional load on the healthcare system," he added.
Lockdown in Ukraine: Related
