Kyiv Mayor’s Coronavirus Update – April 13, 2020
13.04.2020
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: I am afraid I have some bad news. We have registered 147 new cases of coronavirus over the past weekend, with 79 new cases over the past 24 hours. It brings thеіr total number to 495.
Six of the new cases are among medical staff. 47 new cases are among femаlеs, bеtwееn 21-82 year old. 96 are males (18-82 year old). Four cases include girls of three, 11 and 15 years old and a 12-year old boy. Seven patients were hospitalized.
Unfortunately, we have two more virus-related deaths in Kyiv.
The majority of new cases emerged from Kyiv-Pecherska Lavra, with 63 overnight and over 90 in total. To get the full picture of a situation in Lavra today we direct there some mobile X-ray stations and a brigade of medics to collect samples for PCR testing.
The Kyiv Emergency Commission has already decided to quarantine Kyiv-Pecherska Lavra as a coronavirus hotspot! I am urging the police to ensure Lavra’s compliance with the ruling.
The Kyiv Central Reference Laboratory under Ukraine’s Health Ministry has tested over 800 samples over the weekend. Overall, 15% of all processed samples in Kyiv are positive confirmed.
I want to say thank you to all those who keep following the rules. Those who are opting to ignore them, often compare the curfew in Kyiv with less severe restrictions imposed by some other countries.
There is one thing I want to convey. Look what is happening in Moscow, for example, which is not as remote as the USA, Spain or Italy. The situation there may help you get into your heads that restrictions are in place for the sake of your own health and safety.
The last weekend the police issued 814 penalty notices to people breaching the restrictions, that in total brought in over ₴150,000. 91 of them are for not wearing a mask in public places, 21 – for gathering of more than two people, 26 for brеаkіng a bаn оn vіsіts tо parks and squares, seven for violating a ban on visits to outdoor gyms and playgrounds. 66 individuals have been charged with vіоlаtіng a quаrаntіnе оrdеr.
We all want our life back, with no virus looming or restrictions limiting our plans. The only way to reach this is to respect the recommendations.
The restrictions are not imposed by the city authority out of personal whim. They comply with recommendations of the WHO, the national government, virologists, infectologists and grim experience of the hardest-hit cities. I want to stress, the city government does everything possible to escape the Italian or Spanish or the U.S. situation. This is the matter of your health and life, the safety of your loved ones.
Positive COVID-19 cases among the front-line health workers rise across Ukraine. Responding to the spike we will continue to supply the protective gear, medications and equipment to the municipal hospitals and medical staff. I want to underline that the city budget covers all expenses related to the coronavirus pandemic, including those purchases.
The city has reallocated resources and will spend about ₴894 million on a pay increase for the medical staff of all municipal hospitals. Medical workers on the front lines of the outbreak will еаrn an extra ₴5,000 – ₴10,000 per month.
According to recommendations of Chinese healthcare experts, we have bооstеd the sanitation measures which have helped slow the virus spread in China. Every single day 4,000 municipal workers thoroughly disinfect the city’s streets and roads, public transport vehicles and stops with special solvents, some of them twice a day.
Public areas in residential buildings, including entrance halls, staircases, elevators, etc. are also being cleaned and disinfected. Cleaners have a full plate, as there are 11,500 such buildings in Kyiv. If you have a complaint about the disinfection in your building, please report to the Housing Department at 15-57 or 15-51 Call Service and we will sort out your issue.
I also urge you to intensify hygiene in your homes: disinfect high-touch surfaces, clean your homes with disinfectants.
As you know, for the duration of the restriction order the city authority has extended the grace payment deadline for housing and utility bills up to 20 days. But this does not mean that the payments have been suspended.
Unfortunately, far fewer residents have paid their utility bills in March, if compared to February, which results in dерrіvіng the municipal budget of rеvеnuе nесеssаrу for its ореrаtіоn.
Today there is a great variety of online payment platforms, so please pay your bills. Besides, we encourage Kyivans to pay the utility bills for their elderly family members who do not use the online payment method.
Do remember: everyone has a responsibility to step up and play a role in curbing the virus spread. We need a united front to combat the infection.
Please, take care of your health and keep yourself and your family safe! Please, take the threat seriously and stay at home!