Kyiv Mayor’s Coronavirus Update – September 21, 2020
21.09.2020
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: The coronavirus situation in Kyiv is still worrying, the city remains in the ‘orange zone’.
The number of coronavirus cases has risen to 19,758, with new 275 cases overnight. The number of deaths increased by two, bringing the death toll to 318. Nine people recovered, taking total recoveries to 5,868.
New cases are 139 females (18-93 age range), 120 males (18-83 years old) and 16 children. There are also eight new cases among medical workers. 36 persons were admitted to hospitals.
The highest overnight number of new cases, 74 has been reported in Darnytsky district.
Unfortunately, the hospitalisation rate for COVID-19 is steadily high. Currently, there are 1,010 such in-patients, including 30 children. 189 people are very sick, 293 need supplemental oxygen.
22 people are put on a ventilator. More 101 patients are waiting for their test results. 366 Kyivans are admitted to hospitals with pneumonia.
The municipal authority continues to inspect schools to ensure they comply with healthcare policies. 267 school students and 127 teachers are active coronavirus cases so far.
Classes and schools where students and staff test positive are told to quarantine and back to remote learning. There are five such schools in Holosiivsky, Pechersky, Solomiansky, Darnytsky districts and Obolon. Students from a total of 328 classes in 122 schools are staying in self-isolation.
Also, 15 kindergarten classes and a whole kindergarten are temporarily closed for quarantine. The current kindergarten attendance is about 50%.
Special healthcare compliance patrols are continuing to check businesses in Kyiv. Last week they inspected 248 food facilities and issued 71 penalty notices. Despite the high rate of new infections, the staff and visitors of restaurants and markets ignore safety rules. They do not wear masks, stopped disinfecting premises and work after permitted hours. Such irresponsible behaviour may lead to a virus surge and consequently, the ‘red zone’ restrictions.
As I happened to know, some politicians claim that Kyiv is running short of COVID-19 medications, having less than a month supply. Well, they can claim anything they want. The truth is, the authority has done everything possible to make the medical care available for all coronavirus patients and out hospitals are fully equipped to handle all such patients.
Over 2,200 coronavirus beds have been deployed in 18 municipal hospitals and we are working to scale up their number to over 11,000. Also, we are ready to employ more health workers to treat the increasing number of coronavirus patients. We have over 400 ventilators available so far which is enough.
Since the beginning of the outbreak, the municipality has spent ₴106 million for medications in addition to the funding provided by the National Health Service for procurement and supplies.
Thank you and please, follow the public health recommendations!