Ukraine bracing for nearly 60,000 daily COVID-19 cases in two weeks - outlook

The Ministry of Health predicts that in the next two weeks, the number of daily coronavirus cases may increase to 60,000 before the incidence rate is likely to start stabilizing and then gradually decline.

That’s according to Health Minister Viktor Liashko, who spoke at a briefing in Kyiv on Monday, February 7, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Last week, we had about 44,000 daily cases. This set another record for COVID-19 incidence in Ukraine. For the fourth week in a row, Ukraine recorded an increase in new coronavirus cases. Last week, we registered 242,942 of them," said Liashko.

According to the health chief, currently Ukraine ranks 44th among the 54 territories of the European region, as per the World Health Organization, by the number of new cases per 100,000 population over the last 14 days. The top three nations with the highest incidence rate are Israel, Denmark, and Slovenia.

He noted that in Ukraine, the increase in the new registered cases for the past week stood at 44%. That is, this is the first week of the last four when the number of weekly cases hasn't doubled.

"According to our outlook, in the next two weeks, the daily number may increase up to 60,000. Taking into account the experience of other nations, where it took nearly a month from the start of the rise to the peak, whereas in Ukraine, growth has been observed for the past four weeks, the number of coronavirus cases is also expected to increase next week, which is the fifth. And starting from week 7 of 2022, the incidence is likely to start stabilizing and declining," the minister said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, 23,378 confirmed COVID-19 cases were recorded in Ukraine last day.

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