The authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) have no confirmed COVID-19 cases in the republic so far, but over 70 people have been hospitalized with suspected coronavirus infection, DPR Health Minister Olga Dolgoshapko said on Tuesday
DONETSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2020) The authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) have no confirmed COVID-19 cases in the republic so far, but over 70 people have been hospitalized with suspected coronavirus infection, DPR Health Minister Olga Dolgoshapko said on Tuesday.
"To date, there have been no confirmed coronavirus cases in DPR. A total of 71 people are in hospitals under medical supervision, including four children ... Half of them tested negative for the disease," Dolgoshapko said at a briefing.
The minister specified that out of the 71 hospitalized, 15 people have symptoms of the disease. The rest are those who have returned from abroad and could have come into contact with infected people. According to her, 247 people are in self-quarantine at home.
Member of the DPR People's Council Alexander Kurenkov believes that the threat of the further spread of the coronavirus is unlikely to stop the Ukrainian security forces from firing in Donbas.
"Despite the threat of coronavirus, the armed forces of Ukraine will not stop shelling civilians, but also intensify the shelling ... On March 24, the Ukrainian forces tripled the intensity of fire, having attacked the outskirts of Donetsk and Horlivka. In two days, several people were injured, including a girl born in 2007," Kurenkov said, citing the Joint Center for Control and Coordination on Ceasefire (JCCC).
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for an immediate halt of fighting worldwide in order to focus together on combating the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The World Health Organization on March 11 declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease a pandemic. According to the most recent statistics compiled by Johns Hopkins University, over 392,000 coronavirus cases and more than 17,000 fatalities have been confirmed globally to date.
