Zelensky: Ukraine Is Ready for the Second Wave of COVID-19

There are no critical outbreaks or any “red spots” related to the spread of coronavirus infection in the country, Volodymyr Zelensky said. Ukraine is ready for the second wave of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, but authorities hope it will bypass the country. This statement was made by President Volodymyr Zelensky during a conference call, the press service of the head of state said on Monday, July 20. “The current situation is that we must be constantly prepared, but we should not exaggerate the reaction. Today there are no critical outbreaks or any “red spots” related to the spread of coronavirus infection in the country. The quantitative threshold of those recovered has exceeded 50%. We are ready for the second wave, but we hope that it will pass us by,” Zelensky said. In turn, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said that since the beginning of the pandemic, 877 thousand COVID-19 tests have been done in Ukraine, and the mortality rate is quite moderate in the country and is 2.5%. Health Minister Maksym Stepanov added that the number of daily tests is constantly increasing, recalling that in the first days, only 200 tests were done, and the laboratory system required restoration. He also said that for the past three weeks, approximately the same level of indicators for identifying suspicions and infections has been maintained, last week hospitalization as a whole began to decline. SBU Chairman Ivan Bakanov said that his department continues to prevent damages in the purchase of equipment and materials to combat coronavirus. Only the last operations of the SBU made it possible to prevent damage in the amount of UAH 52 million. Earlier, the Ministry of Health recognized the dependence of the increase in new cases of COVID-19 on testing. According to the head of the department, Maksym Stepanov, currently the share of positive tests is about 10%. It was also reported that the quarantine in Ukraine will be extended for at least another month. At the same time, it is proposed to change the quarantine conditions.