Kyiv Mayor’s Coronavirus Update – November 10
10.11.2021
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: I have grim news today. The coronavirus situation rapidly worsens. There are 1,740 new cases in the past 24 hours and 73 more Covid-related deaths – terrifying numbers! We are seeing a steady increase in deaths attributed to Covid-19 in Kyiv for the second week in a row. The fatalities now involve also young and middle-aged people, not only older patients. The latest deaths are 38 women aged 34-95 and 35 men (26-85 years old).
Besides, these days we are seeing more and more children with severe coronavirus disease. There are new 109 children’s infections overnight, including 52 girls (including a two-month-old baby and girls up to 17 years old) and 57 boys (11-17 years old). The Delta variant is much more aggressive to children and young people. Now 85 children are currently being treated in hospitals, four of them are in the intensive therapy units. There are far more children’s hospital admissions now than in previous waves!
Coronavirus hospitals in Kyiv operate at 73 per cent capacity but some of them are going to be overtopped very soon. Oxygen-supported beds are over 70 per cent full. Overall, 85 per cent of hospitalised patients require oxygen therapy.
Let me remind you that the municipality has deployed over 6,000 inpatient beds. At least 90 per cent of them have access to piped oxygen. There are almost 500 ventilators available in the municipal coronavirus facilities across Kyiv.
Children may show no symptoms of the infection but are often a source case for other members of their families. We cannot put children at risk of getting infected, this is why students of the 1st-4th grades will not return to in-person classes next week and continue to learn remotely. Those measures are taken to minimise the risk of virus transmission among school students and their families, so please treat this decision with understanding.
I would want you to remember that we are at war with the virus which is very aggressive, spreads rapidly and kills more and more people. So let us put on a united front against the disease, be strong and responsible.
I have dozens of phone calls a day from people asking me to arrange a hospital admission or a burial for their family members or friends. We have long lines of ambulances with Covid-19 patients waiting to be hospitalised and long queues of bodies waiting to be cremated…
Please, stop being careless, we cannot afford such an attitude now when so many people get the most severely sick from Covid. Please, think about your small children and ageing parents.
Though Kyiv is in the red pandemic zone the operation of public transport and shopping malls is not being suspended for people who have been vaccinated or tested. But the situation does not improve. Our own negligence makes it worse and may lead to a full lockdown. Please, get vaccinated! I also urge you to avoid mass gatherings and taking public transport unless you have a really good reason and always remember to follow the safety rules. Please, have a mask on you, observe physical distance and use a hand sanitiser.
Though Kyiv has the highest vaccination rate in Ukraine, public healthcare is stretched. More than a thousand new daily cases, dozens of Covid-related deaths – how much longer can it last?
However, we all can and must respond. There is a vaccine. Vaccination hubs and offices are available in multiple locations. Because how can we win and become successful if we do not want to make the slightest effort to keep ourselves safe from the virus?
We have to win! Take care and stay safe!