Ukraine restores Covid mask regime in two regions

Health authorities have reported a spike in new cases of the ‘Nimbus’ and ‘Stratus’ strains

Mask mandates have been reintroduced in hospitals in some regions of Ukraine amid a rise in Covid-19 cases.

In a post on his Telegram channel on Monday, the head of the Rovno regional council, Andrey Karaush announced the introduction of masks at a major local hospital. The official added that other medical facilities in the Western Ukrainian region would be considering mask mandates in the coming days.

“Since the beginning of August, almost half a thousand cases of the disease have been officially confirmed in the region,” Karaush announced.

Several Telegram channels and media outlets have also reported that mask mandates were put in effect in several hospitals in Odessa Region, with visits allegedly restricted as well.

According to data circulating in the media, in Kiev alone there have been 1,121 confirmed Covid-19 cases over the past week.

Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Health Ministry stated that the new ‘Nimbus’ and ‘Stratus’ strains of the Omicron variant had been detected in the country.

The strains are said to be behind a rising number of Covid-19 cases in multiple countries over the past few weeks, including the US and the UK.

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020-2021, sweeping mask mandates were enacted in numerous countries across the globe. Many nations also launched mass vaccination drives, some going as far as to make the shots mandatory. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, drastic measures have since been rolled back as the virus seems to have become less deadly over time.

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