COVID-19 Cases Decline: Shmyhal Says Situation in Ukraine Is Stabilizing

This is not yet a victory, but movement toward stabilization has begun.

For the second week in a row, Ukraine has seen a stabilization in the COVID-19 infection rate. This was discussed at a video conference on November 15 with the participation of President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine has already reached a plateau in infections and movement toward stabilization has begun. According to him, last week 139,000 people contracted coronavirus, which is 13,000 fewer than a week earlier. 

The number of hospitalizations has also decreased: last week 30,000 people were hospitalized, compared with 34,000 the week before. 

Vinnytsia region is approaching the “red” zone in terms of infection rates. Meanwhile, Luhansk and Kherson regions could move into the “yellow” zone if the positive trend continues. 

40% vaccinated

Ukraine continues to vaccinate at high rates, with over 1.6 million doses administered last week. According to Shmyhal, the largest share of people vaccinated with at least one dose is in Kyiv at 61%, in Kyiv region nearly 50%, and in Poltava region 46%. 

Among the vaccination “laggards” are Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi, Donetsk and Kirovohrad regions. 

Peak Passed

Over the last week, the number of new confirmed infections fell by 6%, and hospitalizations dropped by 13%. 

Viktor Liashko
Health Minister of Ukraine 

For the first time in three months, the average daily number of discharges from COVID hospitals exceeds the number of admissions. Hospitals are admitting on average 7% fewer patients than are being discharged. 

The minister noted that stabilization in hospitalization levels is a positive signal that the peak of infections has passed. He reminded that this is not yet a victory over the virus, so it is necessary to follow anti-epidemic measures and get vaccinated. 

On November 9, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine published its forecast for the development of the coronavirus epidemic in Ukraine. Scientists suggested that over the past two weeks Ukraine has passed the peak in new coronavirus infections, as indicated by a decline in positive PCR tests of about 15% on average. 

Fake Certificates

Representatives of the National Police and the SBU also spoke at the meeting. They discussed efforts to combat the falsification of PCR tests and vaccination certificates. 

Volodymyr Zelensky called for preventing the sale of PCR tests and vaccination certificates by travel operators. Ukrainians are receiving mass “offers” to buy fake COVID certificates with data entered into Diia. Judging by the scale of the “trade,” demand for these services is huge. 

Record Number of Deaths

Over the past day on November 15, Ukraine recorded 16,308 new coronavirus cases. Meanwhile, 838 people died, 2,264 were hospitalized, and 21,914 recovered. 

Among the new patients were 1,168 children and 327 medical workers. The most cases were recorded in Dnipropetrovsk (1,635), Odesa (1,549), Zaporizhzhia (1,084) and Poltava (1,000) regions, and in Kyiv (1,481). 

Since the start of the pandemic, 3,244,749 people in Ukraine have contracted coronavirus, 77,985 have died, and 2,664,373 have recovered. During this time, 15,292,648 PCR tests were conducted.