Page 19 - UKRRptDec20

“Oligarchs are further coopting Rada members, judges, and others to undermine the President's agenda​,” Kristina A. Kvien, US Embassy Chargé d'Affaires in Kyiv, said at the Ukraine Reform Conference, as reported by UNIAN. “Their primary goal is their own personal enrichment achieved by any means possible, including bribery, coercion, and even joining with outside forces that wish to see Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration fail ultimately. It’s not a coincidence the Constitutional Court decided to demolish anti-corruption reform right in the middle of an American election,” Daria Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action centre, tells Dan Peleschuk for a Slate article, “Don’t Forget About Ukraine.” The goal, she adds, is to “make Ukraine truly look like a failed state.”
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy has contracted the COVID-19 disease,
reported on November 9 the Facebook page of the President’s Office. Zelenskiy will continue to fulfill his presidential responsibilities remotely in self-isolation. “There aren’t any lucky ones in the world, for whom COVID-19 didn’t pose a threat. Despite all the quarantine measures, I also received a positive result. I have 37.5, but I wish everyone 36.6! At that, I feel well. I promise to isolate myself and continue to work. The majority overcame COVID-19. And I will also go through this. Everything will be good!,” Zelenskiy wrote on his Facebook page.
Although the Health Ministry is increasing Ukraine’s Covid hospital beds by 50%, to 80,000​, the Prime Minister warned in the middle of November: “We have arrived at the point of no return and are close to catastrophe.” He told the Rada: “The situation is critical not only in Ukraine, but in the whole world. England, France, Austria, Germany, Spain are returning severe quarantine restrictions.”
As 80% of Ukrainian Covid cases undergo treatment – or self-medicate – at home, the use of antibiotics has grown 3.5 times y/y, ​Health Minister Stepanov told the Rada on November 5. At the same Rada session, Prime Minister Shmyhal said that in Ukraine the mortality rate for hospitalized Covid cases is 1.8%. Since March, almost half a milion Ukrainians have tested positive for the virus.
Ukraine’s new infections tripled over the last six weeks as of the start o November. ​But, Ukraine is a part of a second wave that is provoking new lockdowns across most of the EU. In Worldometer’s index of new cases per 1mn inhabitants, Ukraine is on the low end compared to its six land neighbors. Here are the rates: Hungary - 9,834; Ukraine - 9,864; Belarus 10,933; Russia - 11,375; Poland – 12,336; Slovakia - 12,587; Romania - 14,422.
The Health Ministry will propose to the Cabinet of Ministers in the middle of November a nationwide lockdown on weekends in Ukraine, ​Health Minister Maksym Stepanov told a Nov. 9 press briefing. Only food retailers, pharmacies, gasoline stations and public transport will be allowed to function in order to “break the chain” of transferring the COVID-19 disease, he said. All shopping malls should be closed and eateries should limit their service to takeout, he said.All of Ukraine’s territory was in the orange and red zones of quarantine as of Nov. 6, the cabinet reported that day. The city of Kyiv was in the orange zone, which involves restrictions of hostels, restaurants and entertainments centres in the evenings, planned hospitalizations, fitness centres, sports and cultural events, and mass events. Ukraine’s second-largest
19​ UKRAINE Country Report​ December 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com