Kyiv Mayor’s Coronavirus Update – October 21, 2020
21.10.2020
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: We have registered another sharp increase in new coronavirus cases and related fatalities in the past 24 hours.
Positive coronavirus cases rose to 31,869 in Kyiv, with 559 new cases overnight. Deaths increased by 23, to 627 in total in Kyiv. 199 people recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 11,115.
New cases are 294 women (18-87 years old), 221 men (aged 18-90) and 44 children. 27 medical workers are also new cases. 63 patients were admitted to hospitals.
The majority of new coronavirus cases,139 came from Desniansky district.
As you see, the hospitalisation rate has also increased. A total of 1,666 patients are admitted to hospitals, including 33 children. 394 patients are very ill, 618 are under oxygen therapy and 28 are on a ventilator. 147 Kyivans are admitted to hospitals with suspected coronavirus diagnosis and 463 with pneumonia.
Amid the coronavirus surge, the annual flu season has come. According to the Kyiv Central Laboratory under Ukraine’s Health Ministry, there were over 8,000 influenza cases reported last week in Kyiv, 4,047 adults and 4,038 children. At least half of those children are school students. 24 patients were hospitalised with flu, including 10 kids.
Autumn vacation begins today for 422 schools in Kyiv. Another six schools will remain open due to the new three-term system. The decision to start the autumn break earlier will help slow a spread of the virus because the current coronavirus situation in schools is upsetting. Additionally, it will ensure safe voting on October 25, since schools are often used as vote centres. They will be thoroughly disinfected prior to the election and before their reopening on October 29.
I am often asked why some people trying to get a free coronavirus test are being denied. The point is, only people with COVID-19 symptoms are eligible for PCR testing. And only medical professionals can decide who should get tested. Anyone with coronavirus symptoms should call (rather than visit) a primary care physician who will decide whether a test is needed and send a mobile response group to collect the samples and check the patient’s condition. Such people as well as those admitted to the municipal hospitals with suspected COVID-19 diagnosis are being tested at no cost. If your family doctor fails to respond to your call and you have severe symptoms, please call 103 for an ambulance.
Those people who are worried and want to get tested, travelling abroad or coming back to Ukraine can take a test in private laboratories rather than overloaded municipal facilities.
Please, take the threat seriously and follow the public health recommendation.