Health Ministry does not recommend lockdown in December - Stepanov

Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said this during a briefing on December 4, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We, the Health Ministry, will not recommend a strict quarantine until the end of December. We see a steady increase in coronavirus cases without sharp jumps. Moreover, we can say that our healthcare system will fully cope with the current pressure that we have now because of coronavirus," Stepanov said.

According to him, the incidence rate and the number of hospitalizations remain at a high level in Ukraine, and there is a need to suppress the coronavirus spread and bring it to the minimum possible figures.

Stepanov said that the Health Ministry would recommend the government to introduce a strict quarantine with maximum restrictions starting from the first days of January. The duration of such quarantine should be about three weeks.

"We believe that such planned things can prepare us for a seasonal jump in the incidence rate of influenza and relieve our healthcare system as much as possible," Stepanov added.

As reported by Ukrinform, a total of 787,891 COVID-19 cases were laboratory confirmed in Ukraine on December 4, including 15,131 new cases reported in the past 24 hours.

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