March 6, 2020

First case of COVID-19 is confirmed in Ukraine

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Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine

Deputy Health Minister Viktor Liashko confirms the first COVID-19 case in Ukraine on March 3.

KYIV – On March 3, Deputy Minister of Health Viktor Liashko reported that the first case of the new coronavirus had been confirmed in Ukraine. The patient was hospitalized on February 29 after returning from Italy, where he reportedly was infected. Testing by the Public Health Center showed a positive result. All exposed persons are under surveillance by epidemiologists, and samples were sent to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Ukraine became the 73rd country where COVID-19 was confirmed. Ministry of Health authorities reassured the public that the situation is under control.

Ukraine’s first coronavirus patient was returning home by plane from Italy to the town of Suceava, Romania, and then continued by car to Chernivtsi, a regional center in the west of the country, with his wife on February 26. The couple underwent temperature screening at the border, and they didn’t have any symptoms of acute respiratory disease, according to Deputy Minister of Health Liashko.

“The system has proved its efficiency. While crossing the border, he had had no signs of acute respiratory disease. The husband and his wife decided to self-isolate, according to the care and safety info they had received,” Mr. Liashko said. “On February 29, the man had symptoms of acute respiratory illness. As the information sheet suggests, he contacted his doctor. According to the algorithms, since during the past 14 days he had traveled to Italy, the doctor decided to hospitalize the patient. Transportation was carried out by a special medical team. The symptoms the man has are fever and dry cough. The patient’s state is stable, without complications,” Mr. Liashko reported at the briefing.

The deputy minister also provided information on the health of the patient’s wife: she did not have any symptoms of acute respiratory illnesses, but was self-isolated at home as a preventive measure, in accordance with WHO recommendations. When the home address of the family was leaked to the media, the couple’s neighbors protested near their apartment building. They urged local authorities to take the coronavirus patient’s wife into observation so that they wouldn’t live in the same building with her.

At the briefing, Mr. Liashko also urged the public not to buy medical face masks from pharmacies: “You should only use masks if you have signs of an acute viral illness, or if you are a doctor who works with patients. Masks can create a false sense of safety… They won’t provide any benefit to you if you are healthy.”

Mr. Liashko also updated information about the group under observation in Novi Sanzhary: “All those who are in quarantine, as shown by testing, are healthy. No symptoms of acute respiratory disease have been diagnosed so far. This Thursday, March 5, the observation period will be over, and all of them will return home.”

At another briefing on March 4, Deputy Minister Liashko said six more people in Ukraine were being tested for coronavirus and have been isolated.

Ukraine’s Health Minister Zoryana Skaletska, who is still in Novi Sanzhary, wrote on her Facebook page that beginning on Friday, February 28, coronavirus diagnosing training started across Ukraine. “Doctors, rescuers, police, local authorities are taking part in the training. The Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, with the support of the World Health Organization, organized and is conducting a two-day training session for epidemiologists and virologists. More than 70 experts from all over Ukraine participated,” wrote Minister Skaletska. “The purpose of the training is to develop a COVID-19 outbreak response mechanism. The medical system is completely ready for the coronavirus. We have about 12,000 beds in infectious disease hospitals, 2,000 infectious disease doctors, and 5,000 skilled health-care workers. We must all be united in the fight against the coronavirus,” she posted.

Ms. Skaletska, who is spending her last days as the country’s health minister while in Novi Sanzhary, also commented on the news of the first confirmed coronavirus case in Ukraine. “The process of isolation and treatment of a man who was diagnosed with coronavirus in Chernivtsi has been done according to all our approved algorithms. Now we can say that the risk of spreading the disease from this person to the territory of Ukraine is minimal,” she underlined. “The World Health Organization has handed us 30 test systems, each of which can do 100 tests. At the Ministry of Health level, we communicate daily with WHO experts. We have an agreement: if necessary, Ukraine will receive even more test systems,” reported Ms. Skaletska.

In the meantime, ex-Minister of Health Ulana Suprun warned the public about online fakes that only increase panic in society. “Along with the news of the first case of a coronavirus in Ukraine, there was a noticeable increase in advertisements and ‘helpful’ tips on how to protect yourself in commentaries under posts,” Dr. Suprun wrote on Facebook. “Persons who make money from the sale of questionable items that allegedly protect or even cure all probable and unbelievable illnesses tend to intensify against the background of people’s concerns. Please do not believe fakes and manipulations. Coronavirus, like any other virus, is not prevented and is not treated with various dietary supplements, onion-garlic broths, cumin oil and homeopathy. That is, the whole arsenal of drugs that are usually sold for the treatment of flu and colds, and now are sold under the guise of protection from the new coronavirus,” warned Dr. Suprun.

“Means whose effectiveness has not been proven by any scientific research will not simply take your money, but are also dangerous because they create the illusion of protection and distract from the essential things that help,” commented Dr. Suprun, who also shared recommendations approved by the international health-care community. Those are: Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20-30 seconds. When there is no water or soap nearby, use hand sanitizer. The sanitizer should cover the entire surface of the hands. Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth with dirty hands and avoid close contact with sick people. Ventilate and humidify rooms, disinfect surfaces. In order to help your body cope with any illnesses, always eat well-balanced food, drink plenty of water, do sports and get enough sleep.

“If you see an attempt to suggest a fake cure, ignore this person,” she recommended. “Information hygiene also is an important aspect of combating the coronavirus. The more people know about the true means of protection, the sooner we will overcome the disease.”

Ukrainians are undergoing treatment for the coronavirus also beyond Ukraine. “On February 27, one Ukrainian female citizen was discharged from the hospital and transferred to a hotel,” Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said about a woman who had tested positive for the coronavirus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Japan. “The Ukrainian Embassy in Japan is providing our compatriot with the necessary assistance,” the ministry’s press service said. As reported earlier, four citizens of Ukraine – crew members of the Diamond Princess – had fallen ill with the coronavirus and were hospitalized. The Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed that the three other citizens of Ukraine are continuing their treatment in medical institutions; the date of their discharge is still unknown.

As of March 3, a total of 90,937 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 were registered worldwide, of which 3,117 cases were fatal and 48,017 were recoveries.

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