Kyiv Mayor’s Coronavirus Update – April 29, 2020
29.04.2020
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 43 more persons hаvе bееn tеstеd pоsіtіvе for COVID-19. Among them are 20 men (age range 20-66 years) and 21 women (age range 25-60 years). New cases also include five medical care workers, two children of 12 and 9 years old and two monks from Kyiv-Pecherska Lavra. Overnight there are also five more recoveries and one more death.
17 patients have been hospitalized, the others are receiving medical treatment at home.
Currently, the total number of coronavirus cases in Kyiv is 1341, with 69 recoveries so far.
Let me remind that the Kyiv COVID-19 Response Monitoring Centre obtained information about 52,000 Kyivans who either have returned from abroad (there are 47,000 of them since March 11) or are staying at home in isolation (with mild symptoms or due to contacts with coronavirus positive individuals). The Centre partners with the Municipal Guard whose representatives help control the compliance of those under quarantine with self-isolation.
Those people are being checked when being interviewed over the phone or reporting their location via chatbot. Vіsіts аrе аlsо mаdе to establish their location. The Centre advises them against a violation of the stay home order and warns of the administrative penalties. The law enforcement officers together with the Municipal Guard deal with violators and those who refuse to provide the information to the Centre.
The elderly population that is at a higher risk of becoming infected is being visited by the primary care physicians or representatives of their residential management companies.
Today we are doing everything to stop the spread of the infection. We all have to understand that observing such a basic rule as staying at home can save your health and the health of those around you.
The city government is introducing further relief measures to support SMEs affected by the pandemic. Kyiv reopens the partnership with the Entrepreneurship Development Foundation (the former GUF) which will provide soft loans at 13% of annual interest for entrepreneurs and manufacturers based in Kyiv and the Kyiv region. At the same time under this programme, the city has allocated over ₴7 million to reimburse 50% of the interest cost, thus reducing the initial interest rate to 6.5%. By the end of this year banks selected by the Foundation as programme partners will spend about ₴200 million on concessional loans. This is money that will go back into the city’s economy. The loan application process will be simple and not time-consuming, with only essential paperwork.
Commenting on complaints about suspended routine dental services, including dental surgery, orthodontic and general treatment, as well as children’s dentistry. Urgent dental treatment is available by appointment. The government’s order is aimed at lowering the risk of COVID-19 transmission in dental offices and protecting both the dentists and their patients. I want to stress that all city hospitals have cancelled elective operations and screening procedures, continuing only with emergency cases.
The city must develop even during the ongoing crisis. And I am pleased to report that all our infrastructure projects remain on track and will be completed as expected. We continue to repair roads, renovate the Kyiv zoo and construct a new Metro line. When the city goes back to normal life, we all will see the results.