A conference call on preventing the spread of COVID-19 was chaired by the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal.

The Ministry of Health informed that the number of new cases had increased by 6,000 while the number of hospitalizations by 1,500 over the past week. According to the territorial principle, a high growth rate is observed in Chernivtsi, Volyn, Lviv and Ternopil regions. Also in these regions, the occupancy of beds supplied with oxygen is growing rapidly, and the number of hospitalizations has increased by 60% in a week.

The participants of the meeting discussed key changes to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers №1236 "On the establishment of quarantine and the introduction of restrictive anti-epidemic measures to prevent the spread of acute respiratory disease COVID-19 caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2". The novelties will be approved soon.

The Minister of Health Viktor Liashko voiced the relevant proposals. In particular, the Ministry of Health proposes that the restrictions on the yellow and red zones of epidemic danger should not apply to those establishments where staff and visitors have a COVID certificate proving vaccination, a negative PCR test valid for 72 hours, or a certificate of having had coronavirus disease in the last few months.

"This will allow to effectively contain the epidemic and maintain economic activity," said Viktor Liashko.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stressed the importance of vaccinating educational staff in order to protect children from the disease during the educational process.

"It is extremely important to accelerate the rate of vaccination of teachers and other employees of educational institutions. The relevant ministries should actively work on this topic with the regions, because in the near future the country will transfer to the yellow zone," said Denys Shmyhal.

According to the Ministry of Health, 921,000 vaccinations against COVID-19 were made last week. In particular, 60,511 educators received the first dose and 57,490 educators received the second dose.

The participants of the meeting also raised the issue of observance of anti-epidemic norms and counteraction to COVID documents forgery.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that inspections for compliance with quarantine rules had been resumed. Last week, 40,000 businesses were verified, 205 administrative reports on quarantine violations were drawn up, and almost 3,200 rulings on non-compliance with the mask regime were issued.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that law enforcement officers are stepping up investigations into possible forgery of vaccination certificates. The corresponding order was given by the Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyy to the National Police. In particular, the websites from which the relevant actions are carried out are tracked. Operational and necessary investigative actions are being conducted to record and stop the relevant offenses.