Ukraine has registered 417 new cases of COVID-19 as of 9 a.m. on Aug. 16. The total number of cases in the country since the start of the pandemic is over 2.2 million.
In the past 24 hours, 248 COVID-19 patients have recovered and 14 have died.
Over 2.1 million people have recovered from COVID-19 and 53,255 have died since the pandemic hit Ukraine.
In the past 24 hours, Ukrainian laboratories have carried out 10,238 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and 1,551 antibody tests. Over 11.6 million PCR tests have been conducted since the start of the pandemic.
The largest numbers of new cases have been recorded in the city of Kyiv (59), Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (60), Odesa Oblast (47), Vinnytsya Oblast (35) and Sumy Oblast (32).
Ukraine’s daily new COVID-19 cases and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, the most accurate way of diagnosing the novel coronavirus, between June 16, 2021 and Aug. 15, 2021. All data was released by the Ministry of Health.
State of vaccination
As of Aug. 16, only 2.7 million Ukrainians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and additionally nearly 2 million people have received the first of the two doses. The vaccination campaign started on Feb. 24.
In the last 24 hours, 46,371 people received their first dose of vaccine, the largest amount since the start of the vaccination campaign, while 29,777 received the second dose, completing their vaccination.
Up to 40% of Ukrainians are now immune to COVID-19, claimed Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. The official said on July 16 that nearly 33% of the country’s population has recovered from the disease and acquired immunity to it. Combined with those vaccinated, the proportion might be up to 38-40%, he said.
Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko has announced that the fifth and final stage of COVID-19 vaccination in Ukraine began on July 21. This means that all willing adults will be able to get a jab.
Ukraine’s daily COVID-19 vaccinations from June 16, 2021 to Aug. 15, 2021. All data was released by the Ministry of Health.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Health now allows voluntary COVID-19 vaccination of children over the age of 12 with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, starting July 30.
Children over 12 can get the Pfizer vaccine if they have a high risk of severe disease related to COVID-19, are traveling abroad where the vaccine is mandatory or have already received the first dose of Pfizer in another country.
Anyone registered to be vaccinated through the government app Diia can get vaccinated on the weekends at one of the country’s 197 mass vaccination centers. Kyiv’s main mass vaccination center is based inside the International Exhibition Center near the Livoberezhna metro station but a new one has just opened up in Kyiv Boryspil International Airport.
Ukraine currently vaccinates its people with Pfizer, Sinovac, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines. On July 5, Ukraine authorized the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for use.
On July 21, Kyiv’s primary mass vaccination center started offering Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to everyone, as well as CoronaVac.
U.S. pharmaceutical Pfizer will provide 20 million doses of vaccine to Ukraine by the end of 2021, according to the health ministry.
Under the COVAX program, the U.S. also sent 2 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to Ukraine on July 17.
The Ministry of Health and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) signed a $90 million agreement to launch the COVID-19 Emergency Response and Vaccination in Ukraine project, the health ministry announced on May 18.
Forty million dollars are to be used to purchase vaccines, $30 million will be allocated for the deployment of vaccination against COVID-19, with the remaining funds used to strengthen the capacity of testing for COVID-19.
The U.S. has also promised to give Ukraine some of the 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine that it plans to donate to poor countries. Earlier, the U.S. said it would give Ukraine a share of 25 million doses pledged in humanitarian aid.
Ukraine’s daily new COVID-19 cases and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, the most accurate way of diagnosing the novel coronavirus, between June 16, 2021 and Aug. 15, 2021. All data was released by the Ministry of Health.
Quarantine restrictions eased
Due to the decreasing daily new cases of coronavirus, the Cabinet of Ministers on June 7 eased the restrictions, allowing businesses such as restaurants to work around the clock.
Mass events are allowed if all participants and organizers of the event have a negative COVID-19 test conducted no more than 72 hours before the event, or proper vaccination documentation.
The government has also changed the requirements for regions to be considered a “green” quarantine zone. Now, regions are “green” if their number of new infections does not exceed 75 per 100,000 people in the past 14 days, the rate of COVID-19 infection is less than 4%, the number of PCR and antigen test results do not fall under 300 per 100,000 in the past seven days and no other region is in the “red” zone.
Currently, all oblasts in Ukraine are in the “green” quarantine zone.
Yet Igor Kuzin, Deputy Minister of Health and Chief State Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine predicts the return of Ukraine to the “red zone” in the fall, calling on Ukrainians to vaccinate.
Travel restrictions
Mykhailo Radutsky, head of the parliamentary health committee said on Aug. 2 that in the upcoming week Ukrainians and foreigners will have to take a COVID-19 test when entering the country to minimize the risk of spreading the most wide-spread coronavirus Delta variant.
The exceptions are vaccinated Ukrainians and foreigners with COVID-19 vaccine certificates.
For travelers not vaccinated with WHO approved vaccines from Russia and India, self-isolation will be mandatory if they stayed in either of those countries for more than 7 days.
