Myronivsky Hliboproduct (MHP) allocates UAH 15 million to purchase 19 artificial lung ventilators and personal protective means in Vinnytsia region.
MHP said on its Facebook page that a representative of Vinnytsia Regional State Administration and the agricultural holding developed an operational plan to counter coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
“A commission has been created, the headquarters will begin work in the coming days,” the company said.
According to MHP, a shared strategy for COVID-19 prevention has already been developed. MHP purchases 19 artificial lung ventilators with a patient’s monitor and an oxygen concentrator for all hospitals in Vinnytsia region, where there are departments of infectious disease.
In addition, the purchase of personal protective equipment will be provided for Ladyzhyn city hospital, Tulchyn and Trostianets regional hospitals.
“MHP will also assist in the search and acquisition of all necessary personal protective equipment and medical devices, by involving its own specialists from the logistics department,” the company said.
MHP is the largest producer of poultry in Ukraine. It is also engaged in production of grains, sunflower oil and meat.
DC Ukraine LLC, which manages a drogerie store chain in Ukraine, has said that their stores were illegally closed over quarantine under a decision of local authorities.
According to the press service, in some regions local authorities are trying to close the network stores during quarantine. At the same time, the main range of goods at Watsons stores consists of essential goods, disinfectants, hygiene products and household goods.
“Guided by the appeal of the President of Ukraine to the ministries, heads of regional administrations, local self-government, heads of enterprises on ensuring the smooth operation of grocery stores, household goods stores, gas stations, pharmacies, banking institutions, insurance companies, a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and also taking into account WHO recommendations and the practice of others countries, Watsons continues to work, adhering to the requirements of hygiene standards,” the company said in the press release.
According to the company, the closure of stores selling essential goods is a violation of the rights of people in need of hygiene and disinfection during a pandemic.
“Given all of the above arguments, we emphasize once again the need to continue the work of the drogerie segment. The goal of the Watsons network is to ensure uninterrupted and safe access of the population to the products necessary for maintaining the vital activity,” the company said.
Watsons is the largest chain of beauty and health products stores in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government has imposed a nationwide state of emergency because of the coronavirus pandemic for 30 days, until April 24.
“We are extending the quarantine and imposing a state of emergency on the state of Ukraine, throughout its entire territory, for 30 days until April 14, 2020,” Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a government meeting on Wednesday.
This measure could be extended if necessary, he said.
Ukrtelecom together with Iskratel, the Slovenian telecommunications company, and SID Bank, the Slovenian development bank, signed a new agreement on the development of fiber-optic Internet networks (GPON) in rural zone of Ukraine, Ukrtelecom said on Monday, Mach 23.
According to the company, the new project is designed for two years and includes more than 200 settlements in 13 regions of Ukraine. Total investments in the network construction project will amount to about UAH 200 million.
“The new project is the continuation of a long-term cooperation between Ukrtelecom and Iskratel in the development of high-speed optical access networks. Within its implementation, more than 2,000 kilometers of fiber-optic communication lines will be laid and modern switching equipment assembled in Slovenia at Iskratel production centers will be installed,” reads the statement.
According to Ukrtelecom, as a result of new network construction, hundreds of thousands people of the villages of Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsky, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Odesa, Poltava, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Rivne, Kherson, Kharkiv, Cherkasy and Luhansk regions will get access to the Internet at speeds to 1 Gbps, to digital interactive television and other services of the company. This type of connection will allow communities to implement the full range of digital services.
The project includes settlements in most of which it was previously not possible to connect to wire Internet.
“Ukrtelecom as a national infrastructure telecoms operator of Ukraine has a unique opportunity to involve European financial and production partners in programs to bridge the digital divide in Ukraine,” Yuriy Kurmaz, the director of the company, said.
At this stage, the construction of the network is conducted according to the plan, namely work has begun in Kharkiv region.
The company said that the situation with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic did not affect the planned work.
The international rating agency Standard&Poors has affirmed Ukraine’s long-term foreign and national currency ratings at “B” level, short-term “B” ratings and ratings on the national scale “uaA,” the outlook on them is “stable.”
“Despite the strengthening of fundamental factors, including an increase in foreign exchange reserves, a modest budget deficit and a reduction in public debt to GDP, Ukraine faces risks associated with a deterioration in the global economy and finances,” the agency said on Saturday night.
S&P added that the effects of recent government shifts on the dynamics of reforms in Ukraine and the country’s relationship with key lenders are currently unclear.
The Ukrainian Business Council has proposed that business activities are resumed from April 3, the introduction of additional measures should not be quitted and gradually cancel the restrictions imposed, the Council has said on its website. “We must save the economy. Business must work and pay taxes – everyone. We must support healthcare as a whole and doctors… Therefore, we propose to partially resume business activity from April 3, by no means introducing new measures and gradually canceling the current restrictions,” the Council said in the statement.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Business Council offers the following steps to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease COVID-19: extensive testing and isolation of infected people, enhanced control of infected people in self-isolation using electronic means, specific restrictions on public transport for risk groups – cancellation of benefits for risk groups, equipment of medical facilities and protection of doctors.
According to the Council, the state should move from banning the operation of a wide business segment to banning only certain segments, which involve large crowds.
“The introduction of a state of emergency at this time does not seem appropriate, it is enough to introduce a state of emergency in some regions,” the Ukrainian Business Council said.
“Representatives of the Ukrainian Business Council coalition, which includes 84 Ukrainian associations, urge the president, parliament and government to immediately consider the proposed measures, initiate a joint meeting and create a Crisis Response Center with the participation of experts from the Cabinet of Ministers, the Office of the President, the Verkhovna Rada, business and independent experts to discuss and work on the actions that will ensure effective response to the epidemic and do not harm the economy,” the Council said.
