The situation with COVID-19 in Ukraine continues to improve - the results of the conference call

Under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, a conference call was held on February 21 to counter the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus disease in Ukraine.

According to the Ministry of Health, for the first time in four weeks, the number of new coronavirus cases was less than 200,000 per week. Thus, last week there were registered 191,000 new cases, which is a 19% (or 43,000 cases) reduction as compared to the previous week.

The Ministry of Health data also noted a decrease in the number of hospitalizations. Last week, 20,000 patients were admitted to hospitals, which is by 4,000 less than a week earlier.

"For the first time in six weeks, the number of discharged patients exceeded the number of hospitalized. This leads to the fact that the number of occupied beds with patients who contracted coronavirus disease is constantly decreasing," said Minister of Health Viktor Liashko.

According to the Minister of Health, the bed occupancy rate reserved for patients with COVID-19 is currently 35%.

The Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal gave the task to the Ministry of Health to analyze the quarantine restrictions taking into account the epidemic situation and the recommendations of the European Union. And, if necessary, make changes to the requirements that will apply after March 31 in the orange and green epidemic danger zones, given the spring-summer period.

"A number of European countries are already easing quarantine measures for tourist trips. In March, according to forecasts, we will stabilize the epidemic situation. So now we have to work out new solutions for the spring-summer period," said Denys Shmyhal.