Ministry of Health scares with COVID-19 outbreak after Easter
Chief Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine, Deputy Minister of Health Viktor Liashko. Photo: a screenshot of the video on the "Snіdanok z 1 + 1" YouTube channel
On April 21, 2020, the Chief Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine, Deputy Minister of Health Viktor Liashko, contrary to the position of the police, said in the programme "Snіdanok z 1 + 1" that after Easter there would be an outbreak of coronavirus infection.
“What our statistics show, how many priests and monks infected in closed rooms we saw today, this will give a 100% outbreak.” Our main task is what kind of outbreak it will be and how we should prepare for it,” he said.
According to Liashko, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine is intensively preparing hospitals to receive patients with COVID-19 in those regions of Ukraine where the services were held.
“Today, you know, certain cities are closed. We, again, are preparing hospitals in those regional centers that were not designated for the reception of patients, but services were held there,” the chief sanitary doctor of Ukraine said.
As an example, he named the Pochayiv Central District Hospital (as of April 21, according to the assistant dean of the Holy Dormition Pochayiv Lavra, Hieromonk Nikodim (Shamailo), there are no COVID-19 cases in the Pochayiv Lavra – Ed.).
According to the Deputy Minister of Health, a surge in coronavirus infection is possible within 5-7 days after Easter due to the fact that 130,000 people attended the service.
“If compared with the previous year, when 7,500,000 participated in services, people basically followed (the quarantine – Ed.) But 130,000 were anyway,” he emphasized. “And 130,000 if we are talking about a population, if we equate this to the spread of coronavirus disease, <...> this is a significant, large amount that can give us a significant surge in the coronavirus disease in the future.”
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, on the contrary, noted that Ukrainians can be proud of how they celebrated Easter in quarantine. In his opinion, the fact that a little more than 100,000 believers came to the services, and not 7,500,000, is a manifestation of maturity and responsible attitude to oneself, relatives and physicians.
Earlier, the National Police of Ukraine said that Easter services were held without violations in most churches.
Read also
In Spain, murderer moved to women's prison after claiming to be female
A Spaniard convicted of a series of brutal murders has secured a transfer to a women's prison allegedly based on a change of gender identity.
Georgian Patriarchate warns about fake social media pages
The Georgian Orthodox Church has stated that unknown individuals are using official symbols to create fake social media pages.
Court extends round-the-clock house arrest for Metropolitan Arseniy
The Chechelivsky Court of Dnipro left the abbot of the Sviatohirsk Lavra under house arrest and allowed him to attend medical procedures without separate permission.
OCU shows number of parishioners in seized church of Bezuhlivka
About 15 people with flags stood at the first "service" at St. Michael's Church after the seizure.
In Kyiv, OCU and UGCC сhaplains given an introductory tour of synagogue
Ukraine’s chief rabbi said that clergy of the OCU, UGCC, and RCC familiarized themselves with Jewish tradition at a synagogue.
OCU outraged that Lepliavo parish removed church property before seizure
The Cherkasy Eparchy of the OCU complained that after the fake “transfer” in Lepliavo, UOC faithful left them nothing but bare walls.