Some 669 cases of acute respiratory disease COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus were confirmed in Ukraine as of 10:00 on Wednesday, April 1, with 17 patients died and 10 recovered. “According to the results of studies of the virological reference laboratory of the Public Health Centre of Ukraine and regional laboratory centers, a total of 669 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed. In total, 17 deaths from COVID-19 were recorded in Ukraine. A total of 10 people have recovered – a repeated laboratory study did not reveal the virus in the body,” the Center for Public Health reported on Facebook on Wednesday morning.
A clearly defined procedure for the mandatory hospitalization of citizens who are diagnosed with coronavirus (COVID-19) or are suspected of carrying the virus will prevent possible abuse that may be caused by a restriction of patients’ rights, lawyers interviewed by Interfax-Ukraine have said.
“A clear fixed procedure for involuntary hospitalization, responsibility for violation of the rights of sick people will prevent the abuse that may occur during involuntary hospitalization,” Managing Partner of the Revealing Information Law Firm Oleksandr Keer said.
According to him, the procedure for hospitalization of patients by ambulance teams in medical institutions, approved by order of the Health Ministry No. 370 dated June 1, 2009, provides for the patient’s mandatory consent to hospitalization. At the same time, the law on ensuring sanitary and epidemic well-being of the population establishes that persons with especially dangerous infectious diseases, in case of refusal to be hospitalized, are subject to compulsory inpatient treatment, and carriers of the causative agents of such diseases and persons who have contact with such patients are obliged to be under medical supervision and quarantine in the prescribed manner.
Keyer emphasized that COVID-19 was included in the list of such diseases by order of the Health Ministry dated February 25, 2020.
Meanwhile, the law on the protection of the population from infectious diseases (adopted in 2000) provides that the central executive body, which ensures the formation of state policy in the field of health (Health Ministry), establishes the procedure for hospitalization, treatment and medical monitoring of patients with infectious diseases, contacts and bacterium carriers, as well as the conditions for their stay in relevant healthcare and scientific institutions.
“At present, there is no normative legal act that would determine the procedure for hospitalization, treatment, medical supervision of patients with infectious diseases, except for patients with tuberculosis,” the lawyer said.
Obligatory medical examination and hospitalization of patients with COVID-19 can be carried out on the basis of a corresponding statement of a representative of a medical institution by court decision. However, according to Keyer, the procedure for considering this category of cases will need to be provided for in Ukraine’s Civil Procedure Code to ensure rights, freedoms and interests of sick people.
Ukrainian business continues providing its support in fighting the coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic, sending money to crisis response teams or buying artificial lungs ventilators, other equipment and protective equipment for medical workers.
In particular, the RDS group of companies, involved in the construction and operation of roads belonged to Yuriy Shumakher and Yevhen Konovalov, bought the Oricare V8600 artificial lung ventilation machine (the United States) for the city of Odesa, and also provides financial assistance to local authorities for the purchase of protective equipment (masks, disinfectants) in the seven regions where it operates.
Makar Paseniuk and Kostiantyn Stetsenko’s ICU investment group purchased COVID-19 tests and intensive care equipment for Kyiv designated hospitals. In particular, for the Oleksandrivska City Clinical Hospital, which receives the main flow of patients with possible COVID-19 disease, the ICU acquired 200 additional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. The investment group provided the city hospital No. 4, one of the three designated hospitals in Kyiv, with almost 5,000 units of intensive care supplies: virus-bacterial filters, breathing circuits, endotracheal tubes, oxygen masks and drainage bags, and the Kyiv perinatal center received three all-in-one intensive care monitors.
The Regional Gas Company (RGC) of Dmytro Firtash purchased medical equipment, components for it, protective equipment, as well as materials and medicines for the amount of UAH 10 million and plans to send another tranche of assistance. In particular, RGC was able to purchase an artificial lung ventilator and monitors for existing ventilators, 2,000 express tests, 30,000 masks and FFP2respirators, 5,000 special glasses, about 5,000 gowns and special overalls and about 3,000 biosecurity kits, as well as disinfection solutions, medicines and fuel for ambulances.
The P&O Maritime Ukraine towing company transferred UAH 6.8 million to the Odesa crisis response team, and TIS-Grain sent UAH 3 million.
Synevo, part of Sweden’s Medicover holding, has handed over the COVID-19 diagnostic equipment using PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests – the most reliable method for diagnosing this coronavirus disease, to the Public Health Center, Synevo Development Director Mykola Butenko said at a video press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
The equipment made by Swiss Roche will allow increasing the speed and the number of COVID-19 tests and will significantly increase the accuracy of test results, removing human element from the process.
The analyzer’s capacities are 96 tests per hour. Different types of biomaterial (blood, saliva, cerebrospinal fluid and others) can be tested.
The equipment has already been delivered by Synevo to the virology reference laboratory of the Public Health Center in Kyiv, which will perform COVID-19 testing.
“In Ukraine, because of the high cost of equipment, this initial stage is usually tested manually by laboratory staff. This limits the speed and number of tests performed. Using the new analyzer will minimize the human factor. As a result, we will significantly increase the number of tests performed and eliminate the risk of human error,” Butenko said.
The use of new equipment will increase the safety of the laboratory staff, since the apparatus performs the process of RNA extraction from the biomaterial automatically, therefore, the laboratory staff will no longer have to contact samples of potentially infected biomaterial.
To launch the analyzer, representatives of Roche Diagnostics in Ukraine will be involved in the startup of the equipment, as well as in special training for employees of the Public Health Center’s laboratory how to use the equipment.
The PCR method directly detects DNA or virus RNA in the biomaterial, therefore this method is the most reliable in the world for the diagnosis of COVID-19.