Kyiv Mayor’s Coronavirus Update – August 14, 2020
14.08.2020
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 want to share an update on the coronavirus situation in Kyiv and the measures we are taking to respond to it.
Over the past 24 hours, there are another 158 coronavirus cases in Ukraine’s capital city. Four of them are medical professionals. With this, their total number rose to 10,160. New cases are 81 women (aged 18-85), 72 men (18-91 years old) and five children. 28 patients are hospitalised.
One more Kyivan died from coronavirus, taking the death toll in Kyiv to 150. In total, 3,316 coronavirus patients have recovered, with 38 in the past 24 hours.
Darnytsa leads with 37 new cases registered overnight.
The State Emergency Commission has put Kyiv in the yellow zone of the threat level due to the increase in virus cases. The current bed occupancy rate at coronavirus dedicated hospitals exceeds 52% so far. It means the restrictions placed by the national government will be tightened as of August 17.
They include mandatory mask wearing in public places and public transport, compulsory identification, one person per each five square metres occupant density and 1,5 metres physical distancing for mass gatherings, cinemas and cultural facilities operating at 50% capacity, only seated travel by ground public transport and prohibition to leave the place of mandatory self-isolation without official permission.
Yes, the situation is unpleasant and quite difficult. In response, the municipality is expanding the bed capacity of second wave municipal hospitals and preparing them to new hospital admissions.
I am reminding that the virus prevalence depends on everyone in our community. We all must observe the official health recommendations which are vital for our health.
I am often asked why so few people, only about a third of those infected have recovered. COVID-19 is a treacherous disease about which we still know very little. There is still no vaccine against it. Some drugs used for coronavirus treatment turn out to be more effective than the others. The recovery is so slow. According to experts, it takes about 20 days on average to recover from the virus, but there are many cases when the disease persisted up to 40 days. Patients who have tested positive a month ago or even earlier, are now in recovery. To determine the full recovery patients get tested once or twice using PCR tests.
Let us stop the virus from winning together! Please, wear your facial masks in public places, observe the physical distancing, wash and sanitise your hands. These are basic and very simple rules that help you stay safe and healthy!