China takes into account that now in Ukraine, despite good government measures, the situation with the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) remains tense. We hopes that humanitarian supplies transferred to Ukraine on Wednesday will help the Ukrainian people, Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine Fan Xianrong has said.
“We take into account that now in Ukraine, despite very good government measures, the situation with the new coronavirus remains tense. We hope that these goods will just help the Ukrainian people. We want the Ukrainian people as early as possible took the final victory over this new coronavirus,” he said at a briefing at the Boryspil International Airport on Wednesday.
The diplomat noted that the cost of cargo devoted to Ukraine is more than a million dollars.
“Since the emergence of the new coronavirus, China and Ukraine have been working very closely. At first, when the coronavirus was in China, the Ukrainian country showed us great understanding and support. The people of Ukraine also supported us in every possible way, and shipped the necessary assistance,” Xianrong said.
The ambassador also added that in China, thanks to very decisive measures, “the situation with the new coronavirus has already weakened to some extent.”
“And when the new coronavirus reached Ukraine, and the situation became tense, the Chinese people naturally extended a hand of friendship and help to you,” he said.
The ambassador added that the Chinese government has already provided humanitarian assistance to Ukraine several times.
He stressed that this time the cargo was provided by the relevant regions of China, which have established close ties with the regions of Ukraine, Chinese enterprises operating in Ukraine, as well as the Sino-Ukrainian Association.
As reported, the aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine IL-76 MD delivered more than 124 cubic meters of assistance to Kyiv on Wednesday to combat COVID-19. It is the largest shipment of assistance from China to Ukraine so far.
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) has installed the first laboratory for PCR and antibody tests at Boryspil International Airport (Kyiv region).
UIA President Yevhen Dykhne said on Facebook that now the laboratory will be used to test UIA crews, however, it will also be able to provide for the needs of departing or arriving passengers, if the arrival country requires a corresponding certificate.
“For example, Tunisia, with which air traffic will soon be restored, allows free border crossing with the availability of a PCR test,” he added.
Dykhne said that a PCR test currently has the highest specificity and sensitivity, in contrast to rapid tests. The material for analysis is a throat swab, and the analysis takes three hours. At the same time, a possible simultaneous loading of the laboratory is 96 samples.
In addition, he said the laboratory also provides for the option of an urgent PCR test of one individual sample within 40 minutes and testing for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, which allows to determine the earlier infection and the presence of immunity (the test material is blood from a vein, the speed is 86 tests per hour).
Darnitsa pharmaceutical company has suspended a project for the production of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19.
Аccording to the press service of the company, the company came to such a decision by tracking reputable medical studies regarding the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19. In particular, as of May 26, some 201 studies of the use of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19 were recorded, of which five were completed.
The company notes that the published clinical trial materials have not confirmed the benefits of using the experimental drug ‘hydroxychloroquine’ for patients with COVID-19.
“The safety of patients and scientific feasibility is an absolute priority for the company. Therefore, taking into account the world scientific thought, the company suspended the project for the production of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19,” Darnitsa said.
The company reminds that Darnitsa had launched the project to prepare for the production of hydroxychloroquine in March 2020, when Chinese treatment protocols and publications in authoritative sources about the effectiveness of this drug for the treatment of COVID-19 appeared. These data gave reason to include hydroxychloroquine in the protocols of experimental treatment of COVID-19 in many countries of the world, in particular in Ukraine, the United States and in European countries.
“At the same time, Darnitsa received numerous requests from Ukrainian doctors and patients asking for the opportunity to use the drug for treating coronavirus infection, since this therapy was considered by the medical community as potentially effective. Considering the scientific data and the medical community’s requests, Darnitsa started a project for the production of hydroxychloroquine preparations exclusively for the needs of medical institutions in the treatment of COVID-19,” the company’s press service said.
Darnitsa pharmaceutical company was founded in 1930. It is one of the ten largest pharmaceutical manufacturers in Ukraine and the top ten largest hospital suppliers. The strategic directions of the portfolio development are cardiology, neurology and solutions to pain problems.
The metro reopened in Kyiv and Kharkiv on May 25 after the two-month pause caused by coronavirus. In Kyiv, the metro service is back to the regular schedule. Passengers are required to wear masks, and there are signs indicating the obligatory 1.5-meter distance between passengers.
Metro workers are provided with personal protective equipment.
The Kharkiv metro reopened at 5:30 a.m. on Monday.
“Please be advised that it is prohibited to travel by the metro without a respirator or a mask,” the Kharkiv metro press service said on Facebook.
The metro service in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro (former Dnipropetrovsk) had been unavailable since March 17 in order to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
The big privatization will be launched as soon as the coronavirus crisis is over, and the Dnipro Hotel will become its pilot project, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“As to medium-sized and big privatization, everything is ready. It will be launched after COVID-19. The first target – the Dnipro Hotel – is ready. As we promised, we started with public administration agency,” he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.
The president also said the rest of hotels on balance of the public administration agency will be handed over to the State Property Fund.
The privatization targets have been “cleared off” legal cases, Zelensky said.
PJSC Farmak pharmaceutical company (Kyiv) will use the German scientists’ protocol of clinical trials of the antiviral medicine efficiency, produced by Farmak for coronavirus (COVID-19) treatment, the company’s press service said with reference to Chairperson of the Supervisory Board of Farmak Filya Zhebrovska.
“This medicine was tested apart from human trials and showed good results. We need to come to clinical trials and conduct them, so that in the autumn we know that this medicine is effective and it can fight COVID-19. German scientists helped us indeed. They have prepared the clinical trial protocol correctly, so that we can investigate if this medicine is working according to all necessary criteria. This is a big, hard and expensive work,” she said.
Zhebrovska said that the antiviral medicine, which efficiency against COVID-19 Farmak plans to test, is also being studied by foreign research centers.
“There are good studies on our antiviral medicine at Oxford and Frankfurt universities,” she said.
Zhebrovska said that significant financial funds are needed for the development of COVID-19 vaccines, which Ukraine and the Ukrainian pharmaceutical companies do not currently have.
“The European Investment Bank organized a consortium together with the WHO and allocated EUR 7.6 billion for the development of vaccines for COVID-19. Neither Farmak, nor Ukraine, unfortunately, have such financial capacities. Perhaps we can join to these works at some stage,” she said.
Farmak is the leader in the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine in terms of sales. It exports products to 20 countries.
