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Coronavirus pandemic

Zelensky announces second COVID-19 wave in Ukraine

The Ukrainian President is currently in Slovakia with an official one-day visit

© Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

KIEV, September 24. /TASS/. Considering the current COVID-19 incidence statistics, a second coronavirus wave has begun in Ukraine, President Vladimir Zelensky said Thursday during the joint press conference with this Slovakian counterpart Zuzana Caputova.

The Ukrainian President is currently in Slovakia with an official one-day visit.

"[Incidence] spikes are all around the world now, and Ukraine is no exception; the case count keeps growing. Therefore, indeed, we deny entry to foreign citizens. We made this decision when we had the first wave, and we managed to stop it. Today, we have 3,000 new cases every day. Sadly, this is the second coronavirus wave in Ukraine," Zelensky said, according to Ukrinform.

The President noted that Ukraine registered 100 to 300 new infection cases every day during the first infection wave.

According to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian medics registered 3,372 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, which is marginally less than one day earlier. For the last few weeks, Ukraine reported about 3,000 to 3,500 new cases every day. A total of 188,372 cases were registered in Ukraine since the beginning of the pandemic, 3,757 people died, while 83,458 patients recovered.

Viktor Lyashko, the chief sanitary medic of Ukraine, did not rule out that the republic may introduce a nationwide lockdown.

"This might happen both before and after October 25," he said in an interview, commenting on Ukrainian citizens’ fears that a strict quarantine could be imposed after the local elections take place on October 25. The chief sanitary medic claimed that the date is not a reference point, and that the daily incidence growth is the only thing that matters.

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