Kyiv Mayor’s Coronavirus Update – November 30, 2020
30.11.2020
The mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko held a briefing providing an update on the coronavirus situation in Ukraine’s capital and the measures the city is taking to respond.
Klitschko: There are new 1,460 coronavirus infections in Kyiv in the past 24 hours, totalling 70,478. 88 new recoveries raise their total number to 22,843. There are 13 more fatalities, bringing the death toll to 1,292.
The latest cases are 783 women (18-94 years old), 515 men (19-89 years old) and 162 children. Also, there are 62 healthcare workers among new infections. Hospitalised are 86 patients. In total, there have been over 2,080 hospitalisations since the beginning of the outbreak.
Dniprovsky district leads with 256 new cases, followed by Podil with 230 new infections.
The number of hospital admissions stays steadily high. Now coronavirus hospitals in Kyiv operate at 57 per cent capacity. Currently, there are 2,222 COVID-positive patients, including 35 children. 926 in-patients are seriously ill, 1,335 patients require oxygen therapy and 31 invasive ventilation.
As you may know, I have repeatedly asked the national government and the Healthcare Ministry to allow the Kyiv-based national hospitals, healthcare facilities attached to a specific ministry and affiliated hospitals to the Academy of Medical Sciences to admit Kyivans infected with COVID-19. Because now the national healthcare capacity, which includes 11,000 beds and qualified staff, is unavailable for the infected residents of Kyiv. In return, we are still hearing about plans to deploy the converted mobile hospitals…
The Kyiv government single-handedly has deployed over 4,500 coronavirus beds in the municipal hospitals and continues to admit patients for other conditions. We have allocated over ₴385 million to fight the coronavirus outbreak in Kyiv. About ₴1 billion is earmarked for a pay increase for the medical staff of all municipal hospitals.
And since the Healthcare Ministry chooses to ignore my requests, I am putting the following questions directly to the Prime Minister. Why cannot national facilities and hospitals attached to various ministries and affiliated with the Academy of Medical Sciences admit Kyivans infected with COVID-19? Why are emergency medical services provided by such facilities unavailable for Kyivans? Why the municipal hospitals which have a formal contract agreement with the National Healthcare Service to treat the COVID-19 patients do not receive funding for the coronavirus response?
We have to get the answers. Because when the situation is so worrying, we all must strictly follow the Action Plan and need a united front to combat the virus threat rather than listen to the lockdown talks. The virus is rapidly spreading and hospital admissions are rising fast, our hospitals can run out of beds anytime. We are already facing a shortage of oxygen-supported beds and other challenges.
Currently, 1,137 classes in 289 schools are self-isolating and learning from home, six schools in Kyiv are quarantined due to the positive cases among teachers. 1,401 school students and more than 1,030 teachers are active coronavirus cases so far. Also, quarantined are 219 kindergarten classes in 156 kindergartens and eight nursery schools. The current kindergarten attendance rate is 49 per cent.
I want to remind you about the ongoing seasonal epidemic of flu. The number of influenza cases has reached 12,700 in Kyiv, including over 7,700 adults and almost 5,000 children. New flu cases are steadily growing. So please, pay more attention to your health and be careful so not to endanger those around you. Please, remember to wear a facial mask and observe basic healthcare recommendations! If you feel unwell, please call your family doctor, stay home and let your kids stay home.
I think everybody knows that COVID-19 is not a myth, but a disease with possible health complications. Please, stay safe and healthy!