Health Minister names strict quarantine goals

Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov named the primary goals of introducing strict quarantine in Ukraine. These include limiting contact and reducing pressure on the health care system before an outbreak of influenza.

Stepanov stated this at a briefing.

According to him, during the New Year holidays, there were numerous contacts between people who don't intersect in ordinary life. Plus, the population had fairly high mobility.

"We had holidays that involved enormous crowds of people at Christmas trees, during celebrations. We had citizens moving. All these actions involve numerous contacts. Because of this large number of contacts, the risk of infection increases," Stepanov said.

The Ministry of Health predicts an increase in incidence after the New Year holidays.

"We predict an increase in the number of infected people. At the same time, we have a seasonal increase in the number of influenza patients. This week and next week, we'll monitor the increase in the number of influenza patients," the minister said.

He added that influenza was a seasonal disease that had coronavirus-like complications and was also transmitted by airborne droplets.

"Severe patients also need to be hospitalized. This can lead to a very tense situation. Therefore, to avoid this, we have strategically imposed quarantine from 8 to 24 January," Stepanov said.