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Scoop of the weekend: coronavirus, pending crucial bills

Scoop of the weekend: coronavirus, pending crucial bills

Coronavirus

The total number of Covid-19 coronavirus cases in Ukraine has reached 475. There have been 10 lethal cases and six people have recovered.

According to the Health Ministry, the highest number of cases (22%) has been registered in the age group of 31 to 40 years.

The Health Ministry has said that as of 29 March, only patients with medium and grave condition will be admitted to hospitals.

Another Servant of the People MP Volodymyr Vatras tested positive for coronavirus, according to faction deputy head Yevheniya Kravchuk.

MP Hanna Skorokhod, who was expelled from the Servant of the People faction, also contracted coronavirus.

Ukraine has repatriated around 700 compatriots from Russia by train. All of them agreed to a two-week self-isolation.

According to Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Krykliy, 100,000 Ukrainians have returned to the country since the start of the quarantijne.

A former deputy head of the Kyiv city state administration, Oleh Mishchenko, died of coronavirus complicated by diabetes, according to Deputy Minister for Regional Development Lev Partskhaladze.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said that the crime rate went 30% down due to coronavirus.

Sumy has banned local residents from leaving their homes without a special need and staying outdoors in groups of more than two.

Kyiv has temporarily banned dental services, except for emergency cases.

The international film festival Molodist, which was due from 30 May to 7 June 2020, was rescheduled to August due to coronavirus.

Government reshuffle

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has presented three candidates for ministers to the Servant of the People faction: Maksym Stepanov for health minister, Olha Buslavets for energy minister and Serhiy Marchenko for finance minister, sources in the propresidential party told LB.ua.

President Zelenskyy has appointed Ruslan Khomchak commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and Serhiy Korniychuk chief of the General Staff. Serhiy Nayev has been appointed commander of the Joint Forces.

Crucial bills

Parliament may hold two extraordinary sessions on 30 March, according to Servant of the People faction head Davyd Arakhamiya. MPs may consider the bills on banks and farmland sale.

The European Solidarity and Voice factions have already promised their support for the banking bill, also known as the anti-Kolomoyskyy bill.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine's future depends on the adoption of these bills.

“Our country, due to the coronavirus, is actually at a crossroads and has two ways to go. The first one is to adopt two vital laws, after which we will receive support from our international financial partners in the amount of at least 10bn US dollars. This is necessary to stabilize the country's economy and overcome the crisis. Or the failure of these laws. After this - the decline of the economy and even the threat of default," he said in a video message on 29 March.

Potential corruption scandal

The head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak, has said that he will ask the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the State Investigation Bureau to check the videos published by Servant of the People MP Geo Leros. In the videos, the man looking like Yermak's brother Denys can be seen negotiating with some individuals regarding the terms of their employment to government posts.

Miscellaneous

Ukraine switched to the summer time in the early hours of 29 March.

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