KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s medical system could break down because of a surge in new coronavirus cases and the number of hospitalised people, the country’s health minister warned on Thursday.
Ukraine registered a record 5,397 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, up from the previous record of 4,753 new cases reported on Wednesday. The number of deaths grew by 93 and reached 4,690, Maksym Stepanov told a televised briefing.
“The medical system will simply not stand it if we all, without exception, simply do not begin to adhere to the rules,” Stepanov said.
“The system has a certain verge … we have a limited number of resuscitators, doctors. Our doctors are exhausted, they have been saving lives for six months.”
Stepanov said a total of 244,734 cases had been registered as of Oct. 8, with 4,690 deaths and more than 20,000 people hospitalized.
The daily tally of coronavirus infections spiked in late September and early October above 4,000, prompting the government to extend lockdown measures until the end of October.
Ukraine imposed a strict lockdown in March but eased it in May. Stepanov said the government would consider how to preserve the economy and save people at the same time.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; additional reporting by Natalia Zinets; editing by Jacqueline Wong, Larry King)
