Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski has been hospitalized after testing positive for the coronavirus.
The 42-year-old politician wants to isolate himself well and prevent other people from being exposed to the virus, his spokeswoman said. The president would not be seriously ill.
In addition to Zelenski, hundreds of thousands of other Ukrainians have contracted the virus. More than half a million infections have been reported in the Eastern European country since the start of the pandemic.
Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said on Thursday that an additional 11,057 people had been diagnosed with the virus, the most massive increase so far.
The Ukrainian authorities are making fierce efforts to slow the spread of the virus. The government recently announced that non-essential companies should shut down on weekends.
Stepanov then recognized that a full lockdown would be a better option, but according to him, the Ukrainian economy is no match for that.
Many Ukrainians also think the restrictions on weekends are too far. Thousands of people in Kiev demonstrated against the measures on Wednesday. Demonstrators had brought signs with texts such as “no work – no taxes”.
