Kyiv Mayor’s Coronavirus Update – April 9, 2020
09.04.2020
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 have mоrе dіsmаl nеws. Over the past 24 hours, there are 41 new cases in Kyiv and one more death. This is a big jump, almost three times the number of cases in recent days! Two healthcare workers are among those new cases.
As of today, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kyiv has reached 335.
New cases are 29 males (aged 36-70 years), 11 females (aged 26-71 years) and a 6-month old baby girl. Six patients were hospitalized, others are recovering at home.
26 more clergymen of Kyiv-Pecherska Lavra have been infected with COVID-19. It is hard to imagine how many people might have been put at risk of the infection in this relation, which is why I am deeply troubled by this year’s Easter celebration. My major concern is a possible huge spike of new coronavirus cases after the festivities.
Every time I meet the religious leaders I emphasize their need to comply with the restriction order. The churches must recognize the responsibility to keep their congregants safe and healthy. Yesterday I met the clergymen again and encouraged them to mostly move services and ceremonies online and strictly limit the gatherings at cemeteries. The National Police representatives who also were in attendance urged the clerics to control and limit the number of churchgoers at a time.
Again I want to appeal to my fellow Kyivans to avoid going to church and celebrate Easter at home, with your immediate family. If you choose to neglect your health, just think of your children, elderly parents and partners! Failing to follow the public safety regulations, you endanger their health and lives! We all have a responsibility to care for them, so do reflect on it!
I say thank you to Kyivans who follow the stay home order and do not go out without good reason. But unfortunately, there are still plenty of those who choose to ignore the rules. They are subject to fines. Up to the moment, there are 622 penalty notices issued to people breaching the restrictions. 39 of them are for not wearing a mask in public places, 10 – for gathering of more than two people, 20 for brеаkіng a bаn оn vіsіts tо parks and squares, six for violating a ban on visits to outdoor gyms. 64 individuals have been charged with vіоlаtіng a quаrаntіnе оrdеr. By the way, networking with the Kyiv COVID-19 Response Monitoring Centre the police have соnduсtеd 637 сhесks on whether the people comply with self-isolation order.
There must be control. We all must respect the restriction measures. Now, amid the outbreak, this is a matter of life.
I have already asked the SBU, Ukraine’s Security Service to promptly investigate yesterday’s phone call about planting an explosive at the Oleksandrivska Hospital. Such things must not go unpunished! The rescue teams had to evacuate the patients and medical workers of the dedicated coronavirus hospital. I say thank you to our rescuers and medics for their clear and prompt action.
I am never getting tired of thanking our healthcare workers on the front lines of the outbreak who keep working hard to save Kyivans’ lives and daily risk their own health. Unfortunately, 14 physicians and nurses got infected with the virus.
As mayor of Kyiv, I do everything I can to prevent the explosion of new cases. Help me and play your part! Follow the recommendations and be careful! 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.
Every day I talk to mayors of various cities to know more about their response to the coronavirus spread. For example, yesterday I talked by phone with the mayor of Prague. The situation there is also complicated, they have over 1,300 COVID-19 cases in total. And the city has introduced a strict lockdown and very high fines for its violation.
I am saying it once again. Stay at home, protect yourself and your loved ones! Avoid the risk! We do not want either the Italian or Spanish scenario for Kyiv. We want also to escape the U.S. situation when even the most well-developed public health system is unable to deal with a tremendously growing number of patients.
I am often asked why the national and Kyiv local statistical sets about the coronavirus cases vary. The point is, there are different concepts of calculation and report.
All information that Kyiv releases comes from the state-owned Kyiv Central Reference Laboratory under Ukraine’s Health Ministry which tests the laboratory samples and validates the results. The information Kyiv reports is the most up-to-date, reliable and highly detailed, it specifies the number of cases among males, females and children, the age range of the infected people, etc.
The Ministry of Health receives this data in the morning of the next day and possibly includes it to the next day’s statistic report.
Addressing the issue of stockpiling the ventilators, I want to state that currently there are 390 of them in the city hospitals, including ten ventilators which have been donated. The City Council has already dedicated budget funds from reserves to buy another 52 ventilators for the municipal clinics. Soon we will receive the first batch of 17 pre-ordered machines, mostly made in France.
Unfortunately, Ukraine has now no capacity to produce its own ventilators. The Burevisnik factory has been in a dilapidated state for too long and has now neither capacity nor staff to resume the production at short notice. However, the city is ready to look into the possibility of purchasing locally made ventilators.
I know that many residents are worried about a possible lack of hot water during their quarantine. As the city has ended the heating season, we have to put our furnаcе sуstеm іn rеаdіnеss for the next one. As the city conducts the hydro testing, the whole heating system is being tested for durability and reliability, during which time hot water is temporarily shut off. Let me stress that the maintenance occurs under the technical procedure requirements and is required by the Ukrainian law.
However, at my behest during the restriction period, the hydro testing will not affect residents and facilities that rely on the hot water service. Additionally, as the city plans to change the format of hydro testing and significantly shorten its duration, the local authority petitioned the national government to amend the corresponding bylaw.