Today, there are more than 20,000 patients in Ukrainian hospitals designated for the treatment of patients with coronavirus, and their number is growing rapidly. This was announced during a briefing on October 8 by the Minister of Health Maxym Stepanov.

“Every day we look for ways to save people to make the treatment more effective. However, the medical system has a limit, including a limited number of health professionals. As of this morning, there are more than 20,000 patients in our hospitals, i.e. more than 20,000 beds are already occupied. And this number increases on daily basis. The public health system will not withstand unless we embark on abiding by the anti-epidemic rules en masse,” the Minister of Health urged.

Maxym Stepanov also noted that throughout six months the medical system of Ukraine had been significantly strengthened: the number of beds in hospitals had increased from 12,000 to 37,000, in particular, the number of oxygen beds had grown 2.5 times; the number of testing had increased to 34,000 per day.

"But I emphasize again - the system has a certain limit. Medicine may just fail to withstand the pressure unless all of us follow the rules without exception. I am well aware that we cannot now choose the approach taken by some European countries. For example, Israel, which introduced a full lockdown due to the increase in the number of patients. Definitely, it is an effective way to break the chain of transmission of the virus. However, this could be a catastrophe for the economy of our country," the Minister said.

Maxym Stepanov once again called for adherence to the main anti-epidemic rules: wearing masks, adhering to social distancing and using antiseptics.