Kyiv Mayor’s Coronavirus Update – October 16, 2020
16.10.2020
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: Over the past 24 hours the number of infections rose by 455. In total there are 29,412 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ukraine’s capital.
261 females (18-94 years old), 163 males (aged 18-87) and 31 children were proved positive. Among the new cases are 17 medical workers. 82 patients were admitted to hospitals.
189 Kyivans recovered, taking the total number of recoveries up to 10,475. 22 more deaths brought the death toll to 557.
The majority of new coronavirus cases,88 came from Obolonsky district.
I am continuing with surprise inspections to hospitals to see how they operate. For example, yesterday I was on inspection of the city hospital No. 6 which is one of the dedicated coronavirus treatment facilities. Last month the hospital deployed four coronavirus units with a total of 200 beds, including 12 critical care beds and 14 groups of shift medical workers. All those beds are occupied right now.
Since spring the municipality has allocated ₴28.5 million to equip this hospital with seven stationary and two portable ventilators and purchase necessary medications and PPE. This is the hospital within which a new laboratory for PCR testing will be set up.
As I have said, the testing capacity in Kyiv is the highest in Ukraine and stands at over 300 tests per 100,000 population. Overall, since the beginning of the outbreak, the municipal healthcare authorities have carried out over 155,000 PCR tests and over 27,500 antibody tests so far. The mobile response brigades continue to collect samples of the people with symptoms at home. A total of 99,000 samples have been taken over the pandemic period, with 934 over the past 24 hours.
Unfortunately, new cases are growing in schools in Kyiv. 579 school students and 449 teachers are active coronavirus cases so far in Kyiv. Eight schools are closed due to infections among staff, kids of 598 classes in 182 schools are self-isolating.
Three kindergartens are also under quarantine. 86 nursery groups in 75 schools are temporarily closed due to the detected infections. Attendance rate is over 55%.
I want also to stress that the city authority has set aside ₴1,3 million to get ready for the election. Those funds will go to purchase the disinfectants and the PPE for 1,109 voting stations since it is vital to ensure the safety of voters and stations’ staff.
As you may know, some NGOs have embarked a new project to raise money for facial masks which they will distribute near the polling stations on October 25. They asked all candidates running for mayor to donate. I think, this is a good idea and I am excited to join. I also had a talk with my brother Wladimir who will donate ₴100,00. I am pleased that the authority teams up with volunteers and public activists to make the stations clean and safe.