Double liability company Interchem, a pharmaceutical company based in Odesa, has bought equipment for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for the virus laboratory of the Odesa Regional Laboratory Center of the Health Ministry of Ukraine.
Interchem Director General Anatoliy Reder told Interfax-Ukraine that this equipment was the first system in the regional laboratory, which makes it possible to perform PCR testing of the COVID-19 infection.
“Until today, in Odesa region there was not a single device on which it was possible to perform such a PCR test. Odesa region was not able to perform such tests on its own, the virus laboratory of the state-owned institution Odesa Regional Laboratory Center of the Health Ministry of Ukraine was forced to act as a logistician: to collect biomaterial from the centers where it was taken, and then send it to Kyiv. Thus, the results were only on the fifth day. This is what we must avoid, as if we are forced to wait five days for a response from the laboratory, all other methods of fighting the virus are becoming meaningless,” he said.
Reder said that the system for PCR testing has already been installed and began to work.
In addition, Interchem purchased the first batch of tests for this system.
“We hope that the PCR tests, which are procured centrally, will also come to Odesa region. As world experience shows, those countries in which it was possible to achieve a high level of coverage of population with testing and diagnostics demonstrate the lowest results in mortality and the spread of infection,” Reder said.
He also said that the purchased PCR testing system will be in demand after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interchem is one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the country.
The volume of retail sales of oil products decreased by 20% over the week, March 14-21, a fall against the background of quarantine measures may reach 40-50% in April, Director of A-95 Consulting Group (Kyiv) Serhiy Kuyun has said.
“Over the weekend, I talked with the top managers and owners of several large fuel station chains. Everyone reported a fall in sales by 15% from the middle of the week, and by 20% or more over the weekend compared to the previous Saturday,” he wrote on his Facebook page on Monday, March 23.
According to him, the largest decline in retail sales is 40% in the western regions, primarily in Zakarpattia and Chernivtsi. At the same time, sales fell by 90% at fuel stations located close to border points.
Kuyun also said that expectations are also the same, namely sales decrease by 40-50% in April. This is very optimistic, given that in Italy fuel stations lost 70-80%.
Predicting the situation with fuel supplies to the Ukrainian market, Kuyun said that there would be no shortage of resources.
According to him, purchase prices have the potential to decrease in April by UAH 3 per liter for petrol, by UAH 2.5 per liter for diesel fuel at a rate of UAH 30/$1, and by UAH 4.2 per liter and UAH 3.7 per liter, respectively, at a rate of UAH 28/$1. At the same time, in the absence of hryvnia devaluation, a fall in the world prices for oil and oil products would lead to a decrease in purchase prices by UAH 6 per liter for petrol and UAH 5.5 per liter for diesel fuel in April, the expert said.
Due to the fall in the volume of sales of oil products against the background of quarantine, the decrease in revenue in cafes and shops, as well as the increase in the cost of operating a fuel station, namely employees’ transportation, provision of protective equipment, and disinfection of premises, a decrease in purchase prices will not lead to a change in retail prices, Kuyun said.
Hungary’s low-cost airline Wizz Air has suspended its flights from/to its hub in the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv International Airport due to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers on the temporarily closure of most Ukrainian airports. The airline said in a statement on Tuesday that flights from/to the Kyiv airport are annulled for the period from March 24 through April 14, 2020.
“Passengers with bookings affected by flight suspensions will be automatically informed via e-mail, in case the customers booked directly on wizzair.com or via the airline’s mobile app. 120% of the original fare will automatically be uploaded to the customer’s WIZZ account, with the amount to be used in the next 24 months for the purchase of Wizz Air products and services,” the airline said.
Passengers can also opt for a cash refund – which will take longer to complete – and will be informed about the necessary steps for a bank transfer or transfer to a bank card in a separate e-mail. In this case, customers will be eligible for only 100% of the original fare.
Passengers who made their bookings via travel agencies – including online travel agencies – should get in touch with the company from which they purchased their tickets, the airline said.
“Wizz Air sincerely apologizes for the disruptions the travel ban could bring to the customers and assures that safety and well-being of its passengers and crew remains the airline’s top priority,” the airline said.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) plans to provide Ukraine with a loan of EUR40 million to fight coronavirus, the press service of the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine reports.
“Last week, Ukrainian Minister for Communities and Territories Development Oleksiy Chernyshov held an online meeting with the European Investment Bank. The parties discussed raising a loan of EUR40 million for a quick response and necessary measures to overcome the coronavirus in Ukraine,” the report says.
This loan will be provided within the framework of the ongoing Ukraine Municipal Infrastructure Program opened in 2014.
“On March 23, the ministry received an action plan from the EIB to provide the agreed loan. Now the parties are agreeing on the details and terms of cooperation,” according to the report.
It is noted that EIB representatives said they supported the strategy of the Ukrainian government and confirmed that for the whole world, and for Ukraine, it is also currently extremely important to use enough modern medical equipment to combat COVID-19.
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of March 25
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
The owner of Global Spirits alcohol holding, Yevhen Cherniak, is ready to produce spirit disinfectors and sanitizers free of charge at the holding’s facilities.
“We are ready at our facilities, re-profiling them, to produce spirit sanitizers and disinfectors for medical institutions free of charge,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
At the same time, Cherniak said that this requires permits from the ministry.
“This project is non-profit, we take all the costs of production, only raw materials and permits are from the monopolist [Ukrspyrt state-owned enterprise],” the owner of Global Spirits said.
In response to this initiative of the businessman, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine Taras Vysotsky said that in order to implement this initiative, it is necessary to amend the Tax Code.
“These changes have already been worked out and are awaiting adoption at the next extraordinary plenary session,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
Vysotsky said that Ukrspyrt is also ready to instantly switch to the production of disinfectants immediately after the relevant amendments to the law have been introduced.
In turn, Acting Director of Ukrspyrt Serhiy Bleskun supported the idea of the owner of Global Spirits and proposed a plan for its implementation.
“During application, it may be the following solution: to determine the amount of spirit (Ukrspyrt will provide almost any), to remove the excise tax from the volume by the decision of the Verkhovna Rada, to sell it at distilleries without excise (including our one), distilleries dispense spirit or products containing spirit as agreed with the Ministry of Health, distilleries deliver through their own distribution within 24 hours to those in need of this product anywhere in Ukraine,” Bleskun wrote in the comments on the businessman’s post in Facebook.
