Ukraine's Health Minister Maksym Stepanov has announced active preparations for the second wave of COVID-19 in the country, which is expected in October.
"From March 15 to August 1, we increased the number of artificial lung ventilators by more than 800 pieces. This is enough [for the whole country]. These are new pro-grade or high-end devices," Stepanov said in an interview for nv.ua.
Read alsoUkraine reports another record spike in COVID-19 cases on Aug 13
In addition, the ministry continues purchasing personal protective equipment and prepares for heavier load on the medical system.
"Compared to May and early June, the number of sick people has doubled. We, of course, are preparing for even heavier load on the medical system. We cannot allow the situation that was in Italy or Spain," the minister said.
According to him, Ukraine is much better prepared for an increase in the incidence of COVID-19 cases in terms of the availability of specialists treating the coronavirus.
Stepanov noted that Ukraine's national treatment protocols had been improved several times.
As of August 13, there were 1,592 new COVID-19 cases registered in Ukraine in the past 24 hours, which brought the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 86,140.
