The Ministry of Health has begun deploying hospitals while preparing for the second wave of combat against coronavirus disease COVID-19. At present, these medical institutions have more than 10,000 beds for patients. The Minister of Health of Ukraine Maxym Stepanov stated at a daily briefing on August 10.

"In certain regions, we have already started deploying second-wave hospitals. They have prepared 10,237 beds for hospitalization of patients with COVID-19. These hospitals have 851 intensive care beds, as well as 1,442 ventilators," said Maxym Stepanov.

According to the Minister of Health, the pace of the spread of coronavirus in Ukraine, in particular, an increased number of hospitalizations (more than 200 people per day) in some regions has led to the occupancy of first-wave hospitals by more than 50%, which necessitated the preparation of second-wave medical facilities.

According to Maxym Stepanov, over the past four months, the Ministry of Health has significantly increased the number of ventilators by more than 800 units. "In addition, the number of hospital beds with access to oxygen has significantly increased. Work is also underway to purchase personal protective equipment: respirators, gloves, protective shields, and medical masks," the Minister of Health stressed.

At that, according to Maxym Stepanov, the purchase of personal protective equipment is conducted at the expense of the state budget, as well as the funding of the World Bank. "As part of our joint project (with the World Bank - ed.), we will purchase new systems for PCR testing - about 1.2 million units. We also continue to purchase equipment for our laboratory centers," summed up Minister Maxym Stepanov.