COVID-19 cases set latest daily record on Aug. 14, before cooling

New infections of
the COVID-19 disease surged to Ukraine’s daily record of 1,847 on Aug. 14
(including a record of 242 cases in Kyiv), according to the National Security
and Defense Council. Infections cooled off to 1,637 on Aug. 15 and 1,464 on
Aug. 16, both of which were still above the number of daily cases typical
throughout the pandemic. Twenty-one people died on Aug. 16, while 342
recovered.

Health Minister
Maksym Stepanov stressed at his Aug. 16 daily briefing the country is better
prepared for the crisis than at the start. Available are 34,000 hospital beds
(including 9,500 oxygen-equiped beds) and 3,007 artificial ventilators, he
said.

Zenon Zawada: The
Zelensky administration has largely remained silent on the surge in infections.
Moreover, no significant quarantine and lockdown restrictions have been
introduced. Only in Kyiv and two regions are hospital bed occupancy rates
exceeding 50%, indicating that the situation is relatively stable despite the
surge.