COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations set latest daily record

Cases of the COVID-19 disease caused by the coronavirus
set a new daily record of 1,967 on Aug. 19, according to the National Security
and Defense Council. Twenty-eight people died, while 812 recovered. A daily
record of 463 patients were hospitalized. The most cases were reported in the
Kharkiv region (247), the city of Kyiv (215) and the Lviv region (188).

“COVID is gaining momentum. We have seen this tendency
for the last month. We crossed the line very quickly with 1,000 ill per day.
Now we are approaching 2,000 ill. All of healthcare’s abilities are working
towards offering aid to those sick with COVID-19, but it’s very important that
we prevent this disease. This can be achieved by only one means, which is
upholding the rules that we established,” Health Ministry Maksym Stepanov told
his daily press briefing this morning.

Zenon Zawada: It’s not
clear if this is the second wave of the pandemic, or the latest splash of the
first wave. But the situation is getting worse, with the authorities remaining
remarkably silent (out of concern for losing poll ratings ahead of the October
elections). Hospitals will be overwhelmed if new infections continue surfacing
in the daily range of 2,000.