Kyiv Mayor’s Coronavirus Update – April 2
02.04.2021
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: The epidemic situation in Kyiv is very serious, the number of new coronavirus cases is steadily high. The total number of confirmed cases rose to 164,605, with 1,164 new ones in the past 24 hours.
New cases are 719 women (aged 21-91 years), 384 men (aged 18-88 years) and 61 children. 33 healthcare workers tested positive overnight. 46 died, raising the death toll to 3,495. The number of recoveries grew to 106,788, with 571 overnight.
The majority of new coronavirus cases, 180 came from Obolon.
189 patients were hospitalized overnight with a confirmed diagnosis and this is the highest number of Covid-19 hospitalisations reported in a single day in Kyiv. More 546 people were taken to hospitals with suspected diagnosis.
And as of today, there are 4,532 Covid-19 in-patients, including 40 children. 3,116 of them are seriously ill. 3,708 need supplemental oxygen. 60 patients are put on a ventilator. The current bed occupancy rate is more than 80 per cent.
We are seeing rapidly rising rates of very sick patients with Covid-19 and hospitals will soon run above their capacity. With this in mind, I once again request the Health Ministry to ensure that hospitals, affiliated with specific ministries are made available to Kyivans. Up till now only three Ukrzaliznytsia hospitals with a total capacity of 360 beds admit the infected Kyivans. Over 10,000 beds in other hospitals, affiliated to specific ministries and the Academy of Medical Science are still unavailable for Covid-19 patients.
Also, new flu cases remain high. Last week there were almost 26,600 such cases in Kyiv, including about 7,500 children and some 19,100 adults. 2,033 people, including 91 children have been hospitalised with influenza.
As you may know, due to a rising prevalence of coronavirus disease and a higher mortality rate, starting from April 5 Kyiv will tighten restrictions. I know that this decision is far from being popular. But the critical situation in Kyiv leaves us no choice really and we do not have time now for popularity ratings.
As from Monday, April 5 schools and kindergartens will close. We encourage businesses to switch to remote working. Restaurants and cafes will work only for takeout, as they should have been since March 20. The street food markets closed yesterday.
Public transport, including Metro will not be suspended but restricted to only essential workers (medical professionals, municipal, emergency and social services workers, and the military personnel) with special permits. We will not limit the service frequencies or service hours of public transport, but it will operate at no more than 50% capacity. Let me stress that special permits, ID cards and facial masks are mandatory for passengers.
A full list of restrictions is available of the site of the city government https://kyivcity.gov.ua.
We understand that such severe restrictions will impact the city’s economy and business. You may know that this Tuesday the parliament adopted the law on financial support measures aimed at the affected businesses. The central government will pay the insured entrepreneurs and their employees a grant amounting to ₴8,000. Also, the law suggests that the local governments pay their own allocations to the SMEs. Kyiv is looking for the adoption of the ruling and the approval of a mechanism by the government.
Let me remind you that we have approved a relief package to help the businesses recover a year ago. And those measures are still in place. Moreover, at the upcoming City Council meeting I am intent to initiate the extension of relief measures and also some new solutions aiming to help the SMEs and save jobs, even though the city is going to see a drop-off in tax revenues.
In particular, my initiative suggests halving a permit fee for outdoor advertisers and cutting a permit fee on urban beautification to ₴1 for open-air cafes and restaurant terraces as well as other food vendors. Also, I offer to reimburse the interest of loans and credit lines for the extended list of SMEs and expand the list of partnering banks.
We want to support Kyivans during the coronavirus crisis, so starting from April 5 and until the end of the restriction period, the city authority will allow free parking in municipal-owned car parking lots.
I am greatly thankful to the socially responsible businesses which continue to contribute their funds and resources to support Kyivans suffering hardship and the entire community. I want to say thank you to Uber and Uklon companies for their commitment to offer free rides to work for the Kyiv medics and patients receiving crucial treatment. And say how highly I appreciate any support of volunteers who help the socially vulnerable residents.
If we stay united we will overcome the pandemic hardships sooner!