Kyiv Mayor’s Coronavirus Update – April 8, 2020
08.04.2020
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: 294 Kyivans have been tested positive for COVID-19, with 15 new cases over the past 24 hours. New cases include eight females (age range 29-67) and six males (age range 43-61). There are one 16-year old boy and three health workers. Eight patients were admitted to the city’s hospitals, the rest are receiving treatment at home.
I want to highlight, the majority of infected Kyivans are young and middle-aged individuals, the most physically active populations. Plenty of them do not take the infection seriously and do not want to change their routines. Unfortunately, they do not follow the restriction rules.
Once again I have to repeat, this is not about your freedom, this is all about your health and safety! Do comprehend that if we keep following the rules for several weeks the restrictions will be lifted sooner. I agree it is so hard to stay inside, especially now when the weather is so good. But we just have to comply!
As Easter is coming, I am appealing again to religious leaders to ensure that the believers follow the restriction order for their own safety. I am urging everyone to stay indoors and celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter at home, with your immediate family.
The city continues to take care of vulnerable populations. Due to the coronavirus lockdown, this year’s Easter social welfare payments will be handed out earlier. Benefits to 289,000 beneficiaries will be available starting today.
I am so grateful to the donors and socially responsible businesses who help the Kyiv Coordination Centre for Vulnerable Populations and contribute their money and effort. Zhittelyub Charity, Future Kyiv Foundation, the Samaritan Union of Ukraine, Novus, ATB, Rozetka, Nova Poshta and Uklon companies – I cannot thank you enough!
Also, Volkswagen has stерреd uр and оffеrеd its flееt as аmbulаnсеs for those who are under hemodialysis treatment.
Do you know that the Kyiv COVID-19 Response Monitoring Centre has introduced a platform for online соunsеllіng and emotional support? 20 professional coaches of the emotional intelligence from the Kyiv Education Hub help those who experience dіstrеss almost 24/7 and free of charge. The platform also offers online education courses, classes for home workouts and virtual tours of the best Kyiv museums. Check it now on http:moncenter.eduhub.in.ua
I am certain, we can handle the situation and get it over! But only if we all play our part and stick to the rules!
Amid coronavirus spread, the main resources are going to pandemic measures. According to the WHO and Ukraine’s Health Ministry guidance, we recommend that the hospitals cancel elective operations, continuing only with emergency surgeries. But otherwise, the city hospitals and clinics are running as usual, they are fully equipped to offer medical services.
I want to emphasize that now there are enough physicians to treat all patients, including 270 infectologists and over 2,000 paramedics. We respond to almost 1,100 EMS calls per day, on average 60 of them are for suspected coronavirus.
During the restriction period, we registered a decrease in the number of heart attacks and strokes. People began to pay more attention to their health. This year’s seasonal flu and respiratory diseases activity is lower than the outbreak threshold by 65%, in comparison to one a couple of weeks ago. Over the past week, there were 3,000 cases of the flu among children, with 41 admitted to hospitals, and over 4,800 among adult patients (45 hospitalized).
The city government does everything possible to stop the spread of the virus. The sooner we curb the spread, the faster business will recover. This is something that happens worldwide.
The city government has approved a stimulus package to support small and medium-sized enterprises. We reduced rents on municipal properties to 50% and offered a rent holiday for properties which are temporarily closed due to the lockdown. Also, the City Council resumed a financial assistance loan programme for SMEs. Besides, the Kyiv businesses can now stand down their employees who will be entitled to the unemployment benefits.
Under the bill adopted by the Ukrainian lawmakers, SMEs can apply for affordable loans. Other relief measures include a tax holiday for social security fee (until April 30) and a loan repayment holiday (during the whole restriction period).
Various tools are available to help businesses affected by есоnоmіс hаrdshір due to coronavirus and I encourage entrepreneurs to learn more about them.