Due to new cases of COVID-19 infection, Kyiv residents are advised to wear masks again to reduce the risk of infection, the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration reported.
“This issue is also relevant in Kyiv. After all, new cases of coronavirus are recorded every week. Among the hospitalized patients, there are serious patients,” the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration quoted the first deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration Mykola Povoroznyk as saying.
He emphasized that it is advisable for Kyiv residents to return to the mask regime in crowded places to reduce the risk of infection.
“This is primarily about your health, which needs to be protected. In particular, in case of deterioration and the first symptoms of the disease, you should definitely consult your family doctor and, if necessary, be tested for COVID-19 in time,” he stressed, reminding that vaccination is a reliable protection against severe coronavirus disease.
As reported, the World Health Organization (WHO) urges to continue to observe the mask regime and social distancing to avoid contracting COVID-19, these recommendations are related to the growing trend in many countries where cases of coronavirus disease are observed, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for continued mask-wearing and social distancing to avoid COVID-19 infection, these recommendations are linked to an upward trend in many countries where coronavirus cases have been observed, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
“Many countries have seen an increase in respiratory illnesses caused by COVID-19, influenza and other pathogens for several weeks and this trend is expected to continue after the recent holidays,” he wrote on social media X.
Gebreyesus called for mandatory testing and seeking medical attention if necessary, as treatment for COVID-19 can prevent severe illness and death.
He also mentioned the need to use masks, ventilation and social distancing to reduce the risk of infection. In addition, recalled COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations.
In turn, governments need to ensure access to reliable tests, treatment and vaccines, especially for those most at risk of severe infection.
“Continue surveillance, sequencing and reporting to track the evolution of the COVID-19 virus, and clearly communicate risks and risk reduction measures to your population,” the WHO chief emphasized.
According to him, these recommendations provide more information on what governments need to do to combat the ongoing global COVID-19 threats.
A new sub-variant of the Omicron coronavirus strain, JN.1, has reportedly been discovered in many countries around the world, including China, India, the UK and the US, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified it as a “variant of interest” because of “its rapid spread,” the BBC reported Wednesday.
Ukraine has received 203 thousand doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, adapted to protect against the Omicron strain, for free vaccinations from the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF as part of the international COVAX initiative.
According to the Ministry of Health on its website, the vaccine will be distributed to all regions. The storage and transportation of vaccines will be ensured by specialists of the regional centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) in compliance with the requirements of the cold chain.
The vaccine is intended for booster vaccination of those who have already received the primary COVID-19 vaccination.
According to Ihor Kuzin, Deputy Minister of Health, Chief State Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine, more than 13 strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are currently circulating in Ukraine, and all detected mutations are deviations from the Omicron strain.
In total, since the beginning of the epidemic season in Ukraine in October, more than a million Ukrainians have fallen ill with SARS, influenza and COVID-19.
The general recommended course of primary vaccination against COVID-19 and the first booster is three vaccinations. The first booster is administered five months after the initial vaccination.
The number of registered cases of COVID-19 is growing in Ukraine, Chief Sanitary Doctor and Deputy Minister of Health Ihor Kuzin has said.
“We are seeing a steady increase in the incidence of COVID-19. Over the past week, more than 4 thousand cases have been confirmed. A week earlier, only 2.5 thousand cases were registered,” he said during a national telethon on Thursday.
Kuzin noted that among the negative trends is that children under the age of 17 are more likely to get sick. In particular, the incidence among them has quadrupled in Mykolaiv region, tripled in Vinnytsia region, and almost 2.5 times in Kharkiv region.
At the same time, COVID-19 mortality is also increasing.
“While only isolated cases were registered during the summer, over the past week the mortality rate has increased by almost 2.5 times. Over the past week, we have registered nine fatalities, and all of them were among people aged 65 and older,” he said.
The Board of the National Bank of Ukraine has decided to resume inspections of banks suspended since March 2020 in connection with COVID-19, and approved the plan of their conduct for the IV quarter of 2023, according to a statement on the NBU website on Thursday evening.
According to it, scheduled inspections of 8 banks will be carried out in the IV quarter of 2023, in particular A-Bank, Bank ¾, TAScombank and MTB Bank.
EPB Bank, Globus Bank, Sky Bank and Family Bank were also included.
“The inspection plan is drawn up with a risk-based approach, taking into account the specificity and complexity of the bank’s operations, the level of risks of its activities and a certain overall assessment of SREP (Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process),” the regulator pointed out.
It recalled that in May it started assessing the stability of banks to determine the real state of the banking sector under wartime conditions.
The U.S. administration has announced the cancellation of the requirement for mandatory vaccination against coronavirus for foreign nationals arriving in the country starting May 12.
“We are announcing that the administration will waive the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirement for employees of federal agencies, federal contract workers and passengers arriving on international air flights as of May 11,” the White House said in a statement.
The U.S. began requiring foreign nationals entering the country to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 beginning in November 2021. Only certificates of vaccination with vaccines approved by the U.S. health regulator or WHO will be accepted.
In April 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden lifted the national state of emergency imposed in 2020 because of COVID-19.
