Head of Kremenets DC who called to block Pochayiv Lavra dies of COVID-19

Alexander Stefansky. Photo: Facebook

On Friday, May 22, the chairman of the Kremenets district council Vladimir Stefansky died as a result of complications caused by the coronavirus, which was reported by Vladimir Panichev, an epidemiologist at the Ternopil Regional Laboratory Center, to the Suspilne Novyny publication.

“The coronavirus was confirmed on May 18, although he started to feel bad even earlier. He was hospitalized in the Pochaev hospital with pneumonia. Then his state was getting better gradually. He had an oxygen supply,” he said in a comment to the outlet.

Also, the death of Vladimir Stefansky was reported by his son Alexander Stefansky.

According to the Ternopol 20 Minutes edition, one of the sons and mother of Vladimir Stefansky had also revealed the coronavirus. For a long time, the three of them were treated under the supervision of doctors at home.

Vladimir Stefansky was 49 years old. He was the head of the Kremenets district council since 2015 and a member of the European Solidarity Party.

In mid-April 2020, in an interview with the BBC, Vladimir Stefansky called for the complete blocking and closure of the Pochayiv Lavra due to quarantine.

He said that the coronavirus “was roaming within the Pochayiv Lavra,” and that he agreed with the abbot of the monastery, Metropolitan Vladimir, that there would be no pilgrims in the temples or in the Lavra’s hotel for Easter.

In addition, deputy chairman Viacheslav Onishkevich claimed that it was precisely because of the violation of quarantine in the Pochayiv Lavra that the city of Pochayiv was closed for entry and exit. Later it became known that Onishkevich was also diagnosed with COVID-19.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the head of the Pochayiv City Council, Vasily Boyko, spoke about the real situation with coronavirus in the region, emphasizing that information published in the media about the Holy Assumption Pochayiv Lavra as an infection focal point does not correspond to reality.

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