The
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
was confirmed to have reached the
Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), a disputed
Russian republic
The Russian Republic,. referred to as the Russian Democratic Federal Republic. in the 1918 Constitution, was a short-lived state which controlled, ''de jure'', the territory of the former Russian Empire after its proclamation by the Rus ...
in eastern Ukraine, in March 2020.
Background
On 12 January 2020, the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...
(WHO) confirmed that a
novel coronavirus
Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a provisional name given to coronaviruses of medical significance before a permanent name is decided upon. Although coronaviruses are endemic in humans and infections normally mild, such as the common cold (caused by ...
was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.
The
case fatality ratio
In epidemiology, case fatality rate (CFR) – or sometimes more accurately case-fatality risk – is the proportion of people diagnosed with a certain disease, who end up dying of it. Unlike a disease's mortality rate, the CFR does not take int ...
for COVID-19 has been much lower than
SARS of 2003,
but the
transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.
[
]
Timeline
March 2020
On March 13, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov stated that there were 12 patients with COVID-19 in Horlivka, a city in DPR-controlled territory.
On 31 March, the first case was announced by a health official of the DPR—a woman who arrived on March 19 from Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, with her husband and young son.
April 2020
On 1 April, the second case was confirmed. The patient is a child of the woman in the first case.
On 3 April, the third case was confirmed.
On 7 April, the Donetsk People's Republic administration acknowledged the existence of 6 cases of infection.
On 8 April, another case of the disease was confirmed in a 35-year-old man who had returned from Russia.
On April 10, 5 more cases of infection were confirmed. A total of 13,792 people in the DPR territory were self-isolating.
On 17 April, the number of confirmed infections was elevated to 32.
On 22 April, 36 cases of infection were confirmed in the DPR.
Precautions
Due to the coronavirus, the DPR administration banned entry by people who are not registered on their territory from Russia and the neighbouring LPR, except for Russian citizens and employees of international missions. In addition, in the DPR the work of sports, entertainment, and other mass events was limited.
On 1 April, the DPR administration closed customs posts with the LPR.
Reaction of the Ukrainian authorities
Ukraine's Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories claims that in the so-called temporarily occupied territories in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, the real situation regarding the COVID-19 disease is being hidden from the population, and 10,000 people with COVID-19 symptoms are diagnosed with SARS.Amvrosiivka
Amvrosiivka or Amvrosievka ( uk, Амвросіївка, ; russian: Амвросиевка) is a city and was the administrative center of Amvrosiivka Raion in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. , the population was approximately
It is currently occupie ...
.
See also
* COVID-19 pandemic in the Luhansk People's Republic
Notes
References
* Christopher Miller
''RFE/RL'', April 17, 2020.
{{COVID-19
COVID-19 pandemic by country, Donetsk People's Republic
Donetsk People's Republic
Donetsk People's Republic