Ukraine doesn’t need national state of emergency yet, Shmyhal says

The Ukrainian government doesn’t need to introduce a
national state of emergency yet in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Prime
Minister Denys Shmyhal told a television talk show on Mar. 23. “States of
emergencies are introduced when there are truly extraordinary events. Today the
development of the coronavirus is quite moderate when compared with many of the
countries of Europe,” he said. Instead, situations of emergencies are declared
in those regions where the first case of infection is reported. “And these
measures are enough so far,” he said. The same day, the cabinet banned all
flight departures from Ukraine and halting the activity of all airports except
Kyiv International Airport in Boryspil. “The exception is measures of state
necessity at the order of respective ministries,” Shmyhal said on his Telegram
page.

As of noon, Mar. 24, three people have died in Ukraine
from the COVID-19 disease that is caused by the coronavirus, according to the
Center for Public Health of Ukraine. Eighty-four people have been infected in
Ukraine, including three members of parliament. Eighteen Ukrainian citizens are
reported to be currently infected abroad. Situations of emergency have been declared
in ten regions: Cherkasy (Mar. 23), Chernivtsi (Mar. 16), Dnipro (Mar. 20),
Donetsk (Mar. 23), Ivano-Frankivsk (Mar. 20), Kharkiv (Mar. 21), Kyiv (Mar.
18), Lviv (Mar. 23), Ternopil (Mar. 23), and Zhytomyr (Mar. 16). A situation of
emergency was declared in the capital city of Kyiv on Mar. 20.

Zenon Zawada: So far, the
numbers are quite impressive in Ukraine’s ability to contain the virus. They
are too impressive in the view of some observers, who insist the infection and
fatality rates are higher. Indeed the numbers deserve examination in our basic
review of the data. Namely, only one patient is confirmed to have recovered
from the virus as of noon today. Coupled with three deaths, that leaves a lot
of people whose status remains in limbo.

We also noticed that the deaths of those, for whom
the coronavirus is merely suspected as the cause, are not reported as
coronavirus-related deaths. One such death occurred yesterday in the
Ivano-Frankivsk region, and several such reports surfaced in the last week.
It’s not clear if autopsies are being performed to confirmed whether or not
they’re virus-related.