Friday, October 9, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal summoned a meeting with heads of regional state administrations (RSAs), with the participation of Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov, on the situation with the spread of acute respiratory disease COVID-19 caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

The Head of Government said that a new record number of patients had been set in Ukraine the previous 24 hours - 5,804 people. "By now, the leader is the Kharkiv region, where another 630 people have contracted the virus. The highest growth rates are demonstrated by Kyiv city and Odesa region. Instead, the situation in the western regions has somewhat stabilized," Denys Shmyhal said and added such meetings will be held on a regular basis three times a week.

During a teleconference, the Prime Minister heard reports from the RSA heads about the epidemic situation in the regions. He also instructed Deputy Minister of Health - Chief State Sanitary Doctor Viktor Liashko and RSA heads to put the operation of hotlines under personal control. "Based on them, we will develop contact centers. One of the major priorities is the rapid deployment of the contact person detection system," the Head of Government accentuated.

Denys Shmyhal noted that an urgent problem remains unresolved with surcharges to salaries of healthcare personnel in September. According to him, payments were not made in almost 160 institutions in different regions.

"I will ask the Minister of Health to provide information, on the basis of which the Government is to appeal with a submission to the President's Office to bring to disciplinary responsibility the relevant heads of regional state administrations. We will raise the issue of dismissal of the relevant heads of Healthcare Departments. Doctors were waiting for the money, given that the resource had been allocated for these purposes. NHSU was signing contracts around the clock and without days off. If people in the ground do not want to work, we will take punitive steps," the Prime Minister stressed.

Minister of Health Maxym Stepanov announced that several resolutions will be raised at today’s Government session, including a resolution on oxygen supply. Relevant funds will be allocated and distributed among the regions within the subvention. He added that the Ministry of Health is ready to certify medical oxygen producers promptly.

On the outcomes of the meeting, the Prime Minister commissioned the following:

• The Ministry of Health to work on the possible involvement of district clinics and institutions of the National Academy of Sciences with the purpose to increase the number of hospital beds.

• Heads of regional and Kyiv city state administrations to mobilize all services and establish effective communication and coordination with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection of Ukraine, in particular for holding mass events.

• The healthcare departments in the regional and Kyiv city state administrations to work out routing to adjust the transportation of patients with COVID-19.

Moreover, the Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Health to process the proposals submitted by the National Security and Defense Council.

Decisions to strengthen the medical system and measures to respond to the growing incidence of COVID-19 will be considered at a meeting of the Government and the State Commission on Technogenic and Environmental Safety and Emergencies.