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Coronavirus pandemic

Ukraine confirms all-time high of over 500 COVID-19 daily deaths — health ministry

The previous all-time high was reported on April 7, 2021

KIEV, October 19. /TASS/. The number of the COVID-19 mortalities in Ukraine surged by 538 in the past 24 hours, a new high since the onset of the pandemic, the Health Ministry stated on Tuesday.

"The COVID-19 incidence in Ukraine increased by 15,579 [over the past day], while some 9,524 cases of the infection were registered the day before. As many as 538 people died from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours," the health ministry noted.

The previous all-time high was reported on April 7, 2021, when 481 people died due to COVID-19 in a day. Since the start of the pandemic, the country’s death toll has reached 61,348. Over the past day, some 7,776 citizens have recovered, bringing the total number to 2,337,194. Most cases of the infection were registered in the Odessa, Kharkov, Zaporozhye Regions and Kiev. A total of 2,660,273 COVID-19 cases have been disclosed in Ukraine since the start of the pandemic.

As many as 8,065,762 Ukraine’s residents have been inoculated against COVID-19, while some 6,573,564 of them are fully vaccinated. Earlier, the Health Ministry said that 97% of those hospitalized were unvaccinated.

Restrictive measures

Deputy Head of the Patrol Police Department of Ukraine Alexey Biloshitsky noted that from October 21, law enforcement officers, the State Service on Food Safety and Consumer Protection and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention would check vaccination documents.

"The check will be carried out in crowded places where the infection quickly spreads," the Ukrainian official told the 1+1 national TV channel.

According to Biloshitsky, digital certificates will be checked with scanning of the QR code. The official clarified that paper certificates must contain information about the type of vaccination, the number of doses, the doctor's signature and the seal of the healthcare institution.

As the health ministry stated, Kiev, as well as 13 Ukraine’s regions, remain in orange zone of epidemic danger due to the high level of COVID-19 hospitalizations, occupancy of beds and increased incidence. The country’s Kherson, Zaporozhye, Odessa, Donetsk and Dnepropetrovsk Regions are in red zone of epidemic danger. The restrictions will be lifted if as many as 100% of the employees (organizers) and visitors (participants) of institutions and events are fully vaccinated and have so-called green COVID-19 certificates. Furthermore, from October 21, the new regulations for transporting passengers between regions will come into force. To use public transport, one needs to have either a COVID-19 certificate or a negative coronavirus test.

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